At least 12 people killed in Russian overnight attacks on Ukraine

President Zelenskyy said the Russian strikes have left “thousands” of families without electricity in the Odesa region. Picture: (Teresa Suarez/Pool Photo via AP)

At least 12 people, including an Indian citizen, were killed in overnight Russian attacks on Ukraine with “dozens” more injured, the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy said the Russian strikes also left “thousands” of families without electricity in the Odesa region, and a border crossing with Romania “deliberately damaged.” 

Over the last few days, Ukraine suffered a series of prolonged Russian attacks, including daytime bombing, in the latest attempt to “wear down” the war-torn country. 

Kyiv has now been targeted for six consecutive days.

The issue of Russian threat will no doubt also come up during an informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Wicklow, Ireland, with some suggestions that Germany could be close to attributing last month’s Leipzig incidents to Russia.

On behalf of the Irish presidency in the EU Council, Ireland’s defence minister Helen McEntee said the talks in Wicklow come “at a moment of profound challenge for all of us in terms of defence and security,” with closer cooperation needed “more than ever.”

Opening the meeting, EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said today’s talks in Ireland will primarily focus on the EU’s support for Ukraine, with further discussions on other current affairs, including maritime security and Lebanon.

She said that Nato remained “the cornerstone of our security,” but with the US urging its European partners to “assume greater responsibility for their own defence,” there is more scope for internal discussions.

She urged ministers to “challenge the conventional thinking to look beyond simply doing more of the same,” and look for ways in which Europe can innovate and offer new capabilities.

Curiously, Kallas also said she would be forming “a high-level group of former political and military leaders from several EU countries, but also the UK and Ukraine, to have a fresh look at how to respond to current and increasing, very real, military threats.”

A number of other countries also saw incidents believed to be linked with Russia, including a suspected arson of a drone factory in Poland on Sunday night. 

Both Estonia and Latvia briefly activated their air alert systems on Tuesday amid reports of drones near their airspace.

- The Guardian