Russia drone attacks kill four in Ukraine, Zelenskyy condemns “pure terror”

Russian drone attacks on Ukraine have killed four people, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday (28 March). 

Among the dead were a 55-year-old energy worker killed when Russia struck a gas plant in Ukraine’s central Poltava region and a 28-year-old man killed in the city of Kryvyi Rih, also in central Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 252 drones, while 21 drones hit targets at 18 sites across the country. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Black Sea city of Odesa was hit by 60 drones in Russian strikes. 

"There was no military purpose whatsoever – this was pure terror against ordinary civilian life,"  Zelenskyy said on Telegram, adding that there was “extensive damage.”

Oleh Kiper, governor of Odesa, said two people had been killed in the attacks on the city, and 12 injured, including a child. 

A maternity hospital, residential buildings and port infrastructure were damaged in the strikes, regional officials added. 

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Ihor Shpak, chief doctor at Odesa’s Maternity Hospital No. 5, said a powerful explosion had ripped through the building, destroying the roof, and some wards.

Medics managed to evacuate 22 newborn babies, including twins on ventilators, and 32 other patients to a shelter just before the attack, he said.

Olena Kudriashova, an Odesa resident, said her house was damaged in the attacks. 

"On the right, on the left, at the front, and at the back, windows and doors were smashed. We're so happy we made it through the night," she said. 

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