Russia launched a wave of drone strikes across Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least five people, including a one-year-old baby, and injuring many more, in apparent revenge for attacks which targeted Russian airfields at the weekend. The child’s mother, who was also killed, was today revealed to be a serving police officer, with colleagues releasing a statement in which they said their hearts were “scorched with pain”.

Six drones hit a residential area in the northern Ukrainian city of Pryluky, in Chernihiv oblast, just before dawn. Volodymyr Zelensky, posting on X, said a rescuer had arrived on the scene to find the child – his grandchild – dead alongside his daughter and wife. Posting on Telegram, the Ukrainian President explained: “One of the rescuers arrived to respond to the aftermath right at his own home. It turned out that a Shahed drone hit his house.” The mother of the one-year-old killed in Pryluky was an officer called Daryna Shyhyda, Ukraine’s National Police said.

A police statement said: “Today our hearts are scorched by pain. This is not just a loss — it is three generations of life uprooted.”

Six people were wounded in the Pryluky attack and are in hospital, officials said.

Pryluky, which had a prewar population of around 50,000 people, lies about 60 miles (100 kilometres) east of Kyiv, the capital. The city is far from the front line and does not contain any known military assets.

The last time the city was struck was in November last year, when a Russian missile hit an administrative building and injured one person.

Also overnight, 19 people were injured in a Russian drone strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

Casualties included children, a pregnant woman, and a 93-year-old woman, said regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov.

At about 1.05am, Shahed-type drones struck two apartment buildings in the city’s Slobidskyi district, causing fires and destroying several private vehicles.

Mr Syniehubov said: “By launching attacks while people sleep in their homes, the enemy once again confirms its tactic of insidious terror.”

Russian aircraft also dropped four powerful glide bombs on the southern city of Kherson, injuring at least three people, regional authorities said.

Mr Zelensky said a total of 103 drones and one ballistic missile targeted multiple Ukrainian regions overnight, adding: “This is another massive strike. It is yet another reason to impose the strongest possible sanctions and apply pressure collectively.”

The attacks came just hours after US President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to Mr Trump, Putin said “very strongly” that Russia will retaliate for Ukraine’s audacious drone strikes.