On January 8, 2025, the military administration of Zaporizhzhia Oblast in southern Ukraine released photographs showing bodies lying on the ground killed by Russian airstrikes in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. At least 13 civilians were killed and approximately 30 were injured.

   On January 8, 2025, the military administration of Zaporizhzhia Oblast in southern Ukraine released photos of bodies lying on the ground killed by Russian airstrikes in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. At least 13 civilians were killed and approximately 30 wounded in Russian airstrikes on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.

   According to Kyiv officials, on January 8, 2025, Russia launched a missile attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia during the daytime, killing at least 13 civilians and injuring approximately 30 others. Citizens lay in the city streets amid scattered rubble. They received treatment from paramedics and were transported on stretchers. Russian forces frequently carried out airstrikes on civilian residential areas. The governor warned minutes earlier of the threat of high-speed missiles and destructive glide bombs being launched toward Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Russian forces began glide bomb attacks on Zaporizhzhia in the mid-afternoon of January 8, with at least two striking residential buildings in the city.

   Kyiv authorities feared that without military deterrence, a ceasefire or peace agreement would give the Kremlin time to rearm and launch another invasion. Ukrainian forces recently struck a fuel storage facility deep inside Russia. A massive fire erupted at the facility, which supplies fuel to Russian air bases. Russian authorities acknowledged a large-scale drone attack. Ukrainian authorities stated the attack directly hit a storage facility in Russia's Saratov region, approximately 600 km east of the Ukrainian border. Missiles supplied by Western nations have range limitations preventing their use against targets deep inside Russia. Ukrainian forces have advanced the development of long-range missile systems and drones. On January 8, Russian authorities restricted air traffic at an airport near Engels, where nuclear-capable strategic bombers are stationed. Since the initial stages of the Russian military invasion that began on February 24, 2022, Ukrainian drone attacks have forced the relocation of most bombers to other regions.

Warning: In this photo provided by the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration on Jan. 8, 2025, bodies lie on the ground killed in a Russian air strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. (Zaporizhzhia regional military administration via AP)