Ports Burning, Homes Hit: Russian Drones Kill Civilians in 3 Regions, Strike Across Ukraine
AI Analysis
Russian forces launched a large-scale drone and missile attack across Ukraine, targeting critical infrastructure, residential areas, and ports. Ukrainian air defenses successfully intercepted a significant portion of the drones, but civilian casualties and infrastructure damage were reported in multiple regions.
Key Takeaways
- Russia deployed 154 drones, including 100 Shahed UAVs, and 24 ballistic missiles in a coordinated attack on Ukraine.
- Key targets included ports in Odesa, residential areas in Kramatorsk, and energy infrastructure in Mykolaiv and Kherson.
- Ukrainian air defenses intercepted or neutralized 111 UAVs using anti-aircraft systems, electronic warfare, and mobile fire groups.
- Civilian casualties were reported, with at least 9 deaths and multiple injuries across Odesa, Kramatorsk, and Zaporizhzhia.
- Drone strikes caused widespread power outages, train disruptions, and damage to warehouses and railway infrastructure.
Why It Matters
The scale and coordination of this attack highlight Russia's continued reliance on UAVs for long-range strikes, emphasizing the critical need for advanced counter-UAS systems. Ukraine's ability to intercept a majority of the drones demonstrates the growing effectiveness of its air defense network, but the attacks underscore the vulnerability of civilian infrastructure in prolonged drone warfare.
Russian forces attacked Odesa with strike drones on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 12, damaging civilian infrastructure across the city.
Serhiy Lysak, head of the Odesa City Military Administration, said on Telegram that two districts were affected overnight. Two multi-story apartment buildings were hit, with upper-floor apartments damaged.
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
No casualties were reported at those sites, and there were no secondary explosions. Fires that broke out were quickly extinguished.
Civilian facilities, including a car service center, were also damaged. The blast wave shattered windows at a kindergarten and a gymnasium. Municipal crews have been working since nightfall, clearing debris and sealing broken windows with plastic film.
Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper later confirmed that Russian drones also struck one of the region’s ports. One civilian was killed and six others injured, three of them seriously.
Warehouse facilities storing fertilizer, vehicles, and other infrastructure were damaged, and a fire broke out.
The Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported that Russian forces struck a residential building in Kramatorsk on the evening of Feb. 12, killing three brothers and injuring their mother and grandmother.
According to prosecutors, the attack hit a private home in the city’s residential sector. Two 19-year-old men and their 8-year-old brother were killed in a direct strike on the house.
The children’s 43-year-old mother and their 65-year-old grandmother were hospitalized with blast and traumatic brain injuries, concussions, and bruises to the chest, spine, and arm.
Later, the Kramatorsk City Council said the death toll had risen to four.
City officials reported that four people were killed in the shelling of the private sector: a boy born in 2017 and three men born in 2006, 2006, and 1962.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (DSNS) reported another fatality in the Zaporizhzhia region late on Feb. 12. Russian drone strikes hit several settlements, killing a 48-year-old man. A residential building caught fire and neighboring homes were damaged. In another community, a 40-square-meter warehouse was hit.
Russian UAVs also targeted railway infrastructure in the Dnipropetrovsk region, causing temporary train stoppages in Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
In the Mykolaiv region, parts of the Bashtanka district were left without power after drone strikes damaged energy infrastructure. Temporary outages were also reported in Kherson, where water is being supplied by generators while technicians work to restore electricity.
According to the Air Force, from 6 p.m. on Feb. 12 Russia launched one Iskander-M ballistic missile and 154 Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas strike UAVs and other types of drones – about 100 of them Shaheds.
The air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare and unmanned systems, as well as mobile fire groups of Ukraine’s Defense Forces.
As of 8:30 a.m., air defenses had shot down or suppressed 111 Russian UAVs. Missile impacts and 22 strike drones were recorded at 18 locations, with debris from downed targets falling at two additional sites.
Early morning Feb. 12, Russia carried out a large-scale combined attack across Ukraine, launching ballistic missiles and attack drones. The main targets were Kyiv, Dnipro, and Odesa. Ukrainian authorities said Moscow fired 24 ballistic missiles and 219 drones.
Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization since 1995. Its international market reach of 97% outside of Ukraine makes it truly Ukraine’s Global – and most reliable – Voice.