Russian forces launched another wave of drone attacks across Ukraine in the early hours of Friday, Oct. 16, striking an apartment building in Uman, injuring at least five people and sparking fires at commercial and energy facilities as air defenses battled incoming drones across several regions.
In Uman, in central Ukraine’s Cherkasy region, a drone fell onto a multistory residential building, triggering a fire. A nearby security building was also damaged, trapping a man beneath the rubble before rescuers pulled him to safety.
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Five people were reported injured, three of whom required hospitalization, according to regional military administration chief Ihor Taburets. The other two received medical assistance at the scene.
A separate fire broke out at commercial warehouses in the city, but firefighters managed to contain the blaze, Taburets said in an official Telegram update.
Emergency crews continued working at the damaged sites, while authorities established an operational response headquarters.
Russian drones set oil depot ablaze in Khmelnytsky region
In western Ukraine, Russian drones struck the Shepetivka district of Khmelnytsky region late Thursday, igniting a fire at an oil storage facility.
Regional military administration chief Serhii Tiurin said Russian forces repeatedly attacked the region with drones, prompting Ukrainian air defenses to respond.
“Today, the enemy repeatedly attacked Khmelnytsky region with drones. Air defenses were operating. There were interceptions,” Tiurin said.
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He confirmed that a fire had broken out at the oil depot and that emergency services were responding.
Authorities had not provided a confirmed casualty figure in the initial report.
Russian drones strike Cherkasy businesses
In the regional capital, Cherkasy, a Russian drone fell on the grounds of a private enterprise, starting another fire.
Taburets said firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze and that there were no immediate reports of casualties.
The incidents in Uman and Cherkasy came amid repeated air raid alerts across the region. Authorities warned residents that the threat had not passed even after emergency crews began responding to the damage.
Kyiv reports fires and damage to essential infrastructure
Russia also attacked the Ukrainian capital late Thursday, damaging critical infrastructure and causing electricity interruptions in parts of Kyiv and the surrounding region.
Falling drone debris ignited a fire at a private residence in the Shevchenkivskyi district. Elsewhere, fires broke out in the Sviatoshynskyi district, including at a nonresidential building.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said firefighters extinguished the blazes in Sviatoshynskyi and received no reports of casualties from those incidents.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko also reported reduced water pressure on the capital’s right bank following damage to energy infrastructure in Kyiv region, illustrating how Russian attacks on the power network continue to disrupt other essential services.
Russia strikes Chortkiv twice in western Ukraine
Russian forces also carried out two attacks on Chortkiv, a city in Ternopil region, regional military administration chief Taras Pastukh reported Friday morning.
Emergency crews were dispatched to the strike site, where damage assessments were underway.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, Pastukh said.
Air Force tracks jet-powered drones across Ukraine
Ukraine’s Air Force issued repeated warnings throughout the early hours of Friday as Russian jet-powered drones crossed central and western regions.
The military tracked drones over Cherkasy, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, with some heading toward Rivne, Lutsk and Khmelnytsky.
The warnings indicated a wide-ranging aerial assault involving fast-moving drones, forcing air defenses to respond across multiple regions.
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