Children among those injured as Russian drones strike Ukraine’s Odesa

Russian drones have blasted apartment buildings and the power grid in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa in an overnight attack that injured six people, including a toddler and two other children, officials said.

The attack came as Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence in his country’s eventual victory in the war against its neighbour.

Four apartment buildings were damaged in the bombardment, according to regional military administration head Oleh Kiper.

Power company DTEK said two of its energy facilities suffered significant damage. The company said that 10 substations that distribute electricity in the Odesa region were damaged in December alone.

Russia has this year escalated its long-range attacks on urban areas of Ukraine.

In recent months, as Russia’s invasion of its neighbour approaches its four-year milestone in February, it has also intensified its targeting of energy infrastructure, seeking to deny Ukrainians heat and running water in the bitter winter months.

From January to November this year, more than 2,300 Ukrainian civilians were killed and more than 11,000 were injured, the United Nations said earlier this month.

That was 26% higher than in the same period in 2024 and 70% higher than in 2023, it said.

Russia’s sustained drone and missile attacks have taken place against a backdrop of renewed diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.

US President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky at his Florida resort on Sunday and announced that a settlement is “closer than ever before”.

The Ukrainian leader is due to hold talks next week with the heads of European governments supporting his efforts to secure acceptable terms.

Despite the progress in peace negotiations, which he did not mention, Mr Putin reaffirmed his belief in Russia’s eventual success in its invasion of Ukraine as he gave his traditional new year’s address to the nation on Wednesday.

He gave special praise to Russian troops deployed in Ukraine, describing them as heroes “fighting for your native land, truth and justice”.

“We believe in you and our victory,” Mr Putin said, as cited by Russian state news agency Tass.

Mr Putin delivered his recorded speech against the backdrop of a snowy Kremlin, a tradition broken only in 2022 – the year the invasion began – when the Russian leader gave his address flanked by men and women in military fatigues.

The ongoing attacks, meantime, are inflaming tensions.

The overnight Odesa strikes “are further evidence of the enemy’s terror tactics, which deliberately target civilian infrastructure”, Mr Kiper said.

Moscow has alleged that Ukraine attempted to attack Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in north-western Russia with 91 long-range drones late Saturday and early Sunday. Ukrainian officials deny the claim and say it is a ruse to derail progress in the peace negotiations.

Maj Gen Alexander Romanenkov of the Russian air force claimed that the drones took off from Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv regions.

At a briefing, he presented a map showing the drone flight routes before they were downed by Russian air defences over the Bryansk, Tver, Smolensk and Novgorod regions.

It was not possible to independently verify the reports.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, called the Russian allegations “a deliberate distraction” from the peace talks.

“No one should accept unfounded claims from the aggressor who has indiscriminately targeted Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilians since the start of the war,” Ms Kallas posted on X.

Mr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Romania and Croatia are the latest countries to join a fund that buys weapons for Ukraine from the United States.

The financial arrangement, known as the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (Purl), pools contributions from Nato members, except the United States, to purchase American weapons, munitions and equipment.

Since it was established in August, 24 countries are now contributing to the fund, according to Mr Zelensky. The fund has so far received 4.3 billion dollars, with almost 1.5 billion dollars coming in December alone, he said on social media.

Ukraine’s air force said on Wednesday that Russia fired 127 drones at the country during the night, with 101 of them intercepted by air defences.

Meanwhile, the Russian defence ministry said that 86 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russian regions, the Black Sea and the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula.

The Ukrainian attack started a fire at an oil refinery in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, but it was quickly put out, local authorities said.