Ukraine announced on Saturday the deaths of two first responders in a two-stage Russian bombing raid in the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, a rare example of this technique sometimes used in conflicts.
In Komishuvaka, “the first two shots injured four residents of the area, and a residential building was set on fire,” the Ukrainian police said in a statement.
“When the police and rescuers arrived at the scene, the military opened fire on the terrorist country,” according to the police report. “Two employees of the state emergency services were killed and three others were injured.”
“Double”taps”—bombing in two rounds, several minutes apart, targeting first responders—are relatively rare in Ukraine, despite the intensity of fighting between the Russians and Ukrainians for almost two years.
On Saturday morning, Ukraine reported an increase in overnight drone attacks launched by Russia, accusing it of firing 38 on its territory, the highest number since September 30.
The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down 29 of the 38 Shahed, Iranian-made explosive drones.
Ukraine’s emergency services also reported that a power facility in the Odessa region in the south of the country had been hit.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian General Staff declared on Saturday that its forces “continue to maintain positions on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River.”
For more than a year, Ukrainian and Russian forces have been entrenched on both sides of this large river located in the southern Kherson region, after Russia withdrew its troops from the right bank in November 2022.
Ukrainian forces tried several times to cross over and establish positions on the flanks attacked by the Russians. Kyiv recently announced the successful development and consolidation of positions on the left bank of the river.
“Our defenders consolidated their positions and set fire to the occupiers,” the Ukrainian General Staff stated on Saturday in a briefing on their operations on the east bank of the Dnieper River.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have destroyed seven Ukrainian naval drones in the Black Sea and another 20 flying over the occupied territories of eastern and southern Ukraine.
