The aftermath of a Russian ballistic missile attack in Dobropillia, Ukraine, 8 March 2025. Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

Eleven people were killed and 30 more were injured in a Russian ballistic missile attack on the city of Dobropillia in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region overnight, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) announced on Saturday.

Two ballistic missiles damaged eight five-storey residential buildings as well as an administrative building in the city, the SES said, adding that once emergency services had reached the site to tackle the fire caused by the missile strike, a drone struck the area.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia’s “vile and inhumane tactics of intimidation”, which, he said, demonstrated that Russia’s goals remained unchanged. He called on the international community to increase sanctions on Russia and do everything it could to stop Vladimir Putin financing his war.

Dobropillia is in a Ukrainian-controlled area of the Donetsk region, close to the cities of Pokrovsk and Toretsk, where the Armed Forces of Ukraine are currently mounting a counterattack against the Russian forces aiming to capture the entire Donetsk region, which Russia claimed to have annexed in 2022.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday that 31 Ukrainian drones had been shot down over Russia overnight. Leningrad region Governor Alexander Drozdenko said the northwestern Russian region was attacked by two drones, one of which was intercepted on approach, while the other was destroyed over an oil refinery, damaging an oil tank.