Russia has intensified its aerial attacks on Ukrainian territory in broad daylight in recent weeks, causing 19 fatal casualties between Friday and Saturday across various regions of the country. The offensive, which breaks with the usual pattern of nighttime raids, reached its peak of brutality with an attack on a market in the city of Nikopol, where three women and two men were killed. Local authorities reported that, in addition to the fatalities, another 19 people were injured at the site, including a 14-year-old teenager, in a scene that left market stalls and shops completely destroyed by drone strikes. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Moscow used more than 500 drones and dozens of missiles during Friday's escalation, while another 286 devices were launched in the early hours of Saturday, of which 260 were intercepted. However, a fire broke out in an office building and warehouse in the capital due to a drone impact, although no casualties were reported in that specific incident. The impact of the offensive extended to the northern and central parts of the country. In the Sumy region, three deaths were recorded on Friday and another 11 people were injured on Saturday, including a 15-year-old youth, following bombings that affected residential areas, vehicles, and public utility networks. Meanwhile, attacks in Zhytomyr and Dnipropetrovsk added two more fatalities, while in the frontline regions—Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia—local officials counted eight additional deaths, completing a toll of destruction that Ukrainian authorities directly link to the hardening of Russia's military strategy during daytime hours. Trump reaffirms offensive despite loss of U.S. aircraft. The head of state made these statements while traveling to Istanbul for an official meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In the capital region, according to the Argentine News Agency, Governor Mykola Kalashnyk confirmed that an attack killed one person and left eight injured. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko detailed that 'a drone struck a residential building in Obukhiv, and another attack occurred between a kindergarten and a school in Vyshneve, damaging homes.' Despite the wail of air raid sirens and many citizens seeking refuge in the metro or basements, daily life in Kyiv's cafes continued under a tense calm. Photo: Argentine News Agency/Social networks. Faced with this scenario, President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Vladimir Putin's administration of 'turning what should have been silence in the sky into an escalation' prior to the celebration of Catholic Easter.
