Russian forces launched overnight attacks on Ukraine, injuring more than 30 people in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, just a day after Ukraine and the US signed a significant minerals agreement

Overnight Russian strikes have resulted in injuries to over 30 individuals across Ukraine, officials reported on Friday.

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This development follows closely on the heels of a landmark minerals deal signed between Kyiv and Washington.

In the industrial city of Zaporizhzhia, a drone strike wounded 29 people, including a 13-year-old boy, according to regional governor Ivan Fedorov.

He stated on Telegram that “The Russians have struck the city’s civilian infrastructure. Residential buildings, a university, and an infrastructure facility have been damaged.”

Separately, in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Sergiy Lysak reported that two men sustained injuries in a Russian drone attack, which also ignited fires at two separate locations.

Ukraine’s national railway company also reported a “massive attack” on its locomotive repair plant in Zaporizhzhia overnight. The attack caused a fire that burned for several hours, though no injuries were reported at the facility.

Twenty-nine people were wounded as a result of a nocturnal attack by the enemy,” – Ivan Fedorov, Zaporizhzhia Regional Governor

Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry claimed its air defences intercepted 121 Ukrainian drones overnight, primarily over Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

The recent attacks occurred after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted the “equal” benefits of the newly signed minerals deal with the United States.

While the agreement is seen as a positive step, it did not include concrete security guarantees for Ukraine, which has been engaged in a fierce conflict with Russia for over three years.