At least four people killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine | Russia-Ukraine war News | Al Jazeera

## Summary
Listen Listen (4 mins) Save Click here to share on social media share2 Share facebook twitter whatsapp copylink google Add Al Jazeera on Google info Ukrainian rescuers work to extinguish a fire in a damaged residential building following a drone attack in Kharkiv on April 2, 2026 [Sergey Bobok/AFP] By Al Jazeera Staff , AFP and Reuters Published On 4 Apr 2026 4 Apr 2026 Russian air attacks on northeast Ukraine over the past 24 hours have killed at least four people and injured 11 others, according to Oleh Syniehubov, Kharkiv’s regional governor. Recommended Stories list of 3 items list 1 of 3 Drones strike Russia’s Ust-Luga port again as EU officials visit Ukraine list 2 of 3 Ukraine’s Zelenskyy signs air defence deals with UAE, Qatar on Gulf tour list 3 of 3 Russian strikes on Ukraine kill 4 as deal to end war dims end of list Also in northeastern Ukraine, at least 11 people, including a child, were injured after a Russian drone struck a building in the region of Sumy in an overnight attack. “Attack drones struck a 16-storey building and a private residential area [in the region of Sumy]. The Ukrainian Air Force said that the defence forces had “shot down or neutralised” 260 of 286 Russian drones fired towards the “north, south, east and centre of the country” in overnight attacks. Separately, falling drone debris hit a foreign-flagged cargo vessel in the Sea of Azov, causing a fire, while air defences destroyed drones over Taganrog Bay and other districts, said Slyusar, who did not specify the origin of the attacks.

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Ukrainian rescuers work to extinguish a fire in a damaged residential building following a drone attack in Kharkiv on April 2, 2026 [Sergey Bobok/AFP]
By
Al Jazeera Staff
,
AFP
and
Reuters
Published On 4 Apr 2026
4 Apr 2026
Russian air attacks on northeast Ukraine over the past 24 hours have killed at least four people and injured 11 others, according to Oleh Syniehubov, Kharkiv’s regional governor.
Syniehubov said on Saturday that the attacks targeted the city of Kharkiv and 11 other towns and villages.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 items
list 1 of 3
Drones strike Russia’s Ust-Luga port again as EU officials visit Ukraine
list 2 of 3
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy signs air defence deals with UAE, Qatar on Gulf tour
list 3 of 3
Russian strikes on Ukraine kill 4 as deal to end war dims
end of list
Also in northeastern Ukraine, at least 11 people, including a child, were injured after a Russian drone struck a building in the region of Sumy in an overnight attack.
“Attack drones struck a 16-storey building and a private residential area [in the region of Sumy]. Residents of the burning high-rise were promptly evacuated … The fire has been extinguished,” the State Emergency Service of Ukraine’s press office said in a statement.
“Law enforcement officers are documenting the aftermath of the shelling, recording the damage and gathering evidence of war crimes,” reported Russia’s Interfax news agency.
The Ukrainian Air Force said that the defence forces had “shot down or neutralised” 260 of 286 Russian drones fired towards the “north, south, east and centre of the country” in overnight attacks.
It added that 11 drones “were recorded striking 10 locations” with debris from the downed drones found at “six locations”.
Meanwhile in Russia, at least one person was killed and four others injured in drone and missile attacks in its southern Rostov region, according to its governor.
The overnight attack took place in the port city of Taganrog, Rostov Governor Yury Slyusar said on Telegram.
Slyusar said that the injured people – three of whom were Russians and one foreign national – were in “critical condition”.
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A missile also struck a “commercial facility”, said Slyusar, causing a fire to break out on the premises. People were evacuated and the fire was brought under control, he said.
Separately, falling drone debris hit a foreign-flagged cargo vessel in the Sea of Azov, causing a fire, while air defences destroyed drones over Taganrog Bay and other districts, said Slyusar, who did not specify the origin of the attacks.
The Sea of Azov, an economic lifeline connecting Russia and Ukraine, acts as a key shipping route for industrial cargo.
Stalled diplomacy
Diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine that started in February 2022 continue to stall.
The United States, Russia and Ukraine have held three rounds of high-level, trilateral talks in the United Arab Emirates’ Abu Dhabi and Switzerland’s Geneva this year in a bid to negotiate an end to the war.
A fourth round of talks due to take place last month was postponed due to the US-Israel war on Iran, with no progress on the vital question of territory in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had
proposed an Easter truce
, which Russia’s foreign ministry had rejected, dismissing it as a “PR stunt”.
As its price for peace, Russia is insisting that Ukraine cede the fifth of the eastern area of
Donbas
that it has been unable to conquer during four years of war, with Zelenskyy refusing to countenance the prospect, which in any case goes against the country’s constitution.
Kyiv believes it can keep defending its remaining “fortress belt” of industrial towns and cities in the Donbas for years, citing the glacial pace of Russia’s front-line advances since 2023 as its soldiers run into a defensive wall of Ukrainian drones.

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- A fourth round of talks due to take place last month was postponed due to the US-Israel war on Iran, with no progress on the vital question of territory in eastern Ukraine.

### Areas for Consideration
N/A

### Implications
N/A

### Expert Commentary
This article covers ukraine, russia, drones topics. Notable strengths include discussion of ukraine. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 668.