Russia strikes Ukrainian ports, boat; Ukraine reports attacks on Russian refinery, airbase

The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Friday that its forces continued to strike ports and ships being used in support of the Ukrainian military, while Ukraine said it had attacked a Russian oil refinery and an airbase.

According to the ministry, Russian drones struck a military depot in the port of Reni, and a Ukrainian naval patrol boat in the port of Chernomorsk on Friday.

Russian forces also took control of a settlement in the Donetsk region.

On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on social media that Ukrainian forces had carried out long-range strikes early that morning, hitting an oil refinery and a military airbase of Russia.

Zelensky also claimed gains in the Black Sea but did not disclose specific targets or details of the damage.

In the early hours of Saturday, air raid sirens sounded in Kiev, followed by multiple powerful explosions.

Ukraine's air force said Russian forces had launched several ballistic missiles and loitering munitions toward the capital and the surrounding region.

There was no immediate response from Russia.

At least 15 people were killed and 130 others injured in a Russian drone strike on a mall in the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine on Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack drones struck the shopping center in two waves.

The second strike came about half an hour after the initial attack targeting emergency responders, Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian President said that "attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts", and the world "must respond to them accordingly".

Local authorities are working to verify the exact number of people inside the mall at the time of the strike and are compiling a full list of those affected.

There has been no official response from the Russian side regarding the attack.