2 dead as Russia attacks Ukraine overnight with almost 600 drones, Kyiv says

The overnight attack followed several recent nights of record strikes by Russia.

LONDON -- Hundreds of Russian attack drones and more than two dozen cruise missiles targeted Ukraine overnight, killing at least two people, as Moscow continued its campaign of nighttime strikes against civilian areas throughout the country, officials said.

The deaths were in Chernivtsi, in the country's southwest, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that the attack's targets stretched from the Kharkiv and Sumy regions in the east across to the Lviv region in the west.

"My condolences to their families and loved ones," Zelenskyy said in a statement posted to social media. "Around 20 more people injured in the attack are receiving all the necessary assistance."

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense said Russia fired at least 597 attack drones and 26 cruise missiles overnight. Some 319 drones and 25 missiles were shot down by Ukraine's defenses, the military said in a post to the Telegram messaging app, adding that another 258 drones "were suppressed by electronic warfare."

Russia's Ministry of Defense said in a statement that it carried out a "group strike with long-range air-based high-precision weapons and drones" that targeted Ukrainian defense industry targets in several cities. The ministry said it also struck a military airfield.

Russia's overnight attacks have escalated in recent weeks, which have included several nights where Moscow launched record-breaking numbers of attack drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities, according to Ukraine.

"The pace of Russia’s aerial strikes demands swift decisions -- and it can be curbed through sanctions right now," Zelenskyy said on Saturday.

He called for tough sanctions on countries that are helping Russia produce drones and those that are buying oil produced or sold by Russia. And he said he sought more air-defense systems to help protect Ukraine.

"This war can only be stopped through strength," Zelenskyy said. "We expect not just signals from our partners, but actions that will save lives."

Western Ukraine was hardest hit in the night's drone strikes, Prime Minister Denys Shmyha said in Ukrainian on the Telegram messaging app.

"This attack is another reminder to the world that the enemy is not going to stop," he said.