Russia kills 5 at Nikopol market; Ukraine hits Tver missile plant
Confidence: HIGH (80/100) | April 06, 2026 | Nikopol, Tverskaya Oblast', Russia
Аким Апачев / CC BY 4.0
In one sentence: A Russian drone killed five civilians at a Nikopol market on April 4 as Ukraine's SBU struck a cruise missile fuel plant in Tver Oblast, Russia.
Why it matters: Russia struck a civilian market in broad daylight, part of a confirmed pattern of intensified daytime attacks that represent a tactical shift from predominantly nocturnal strikes. Ukraine simultaneously hit a facility in Tver Oblast that produces fuel additives for Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles, directly targeting Russia's long-range strike supply chain. Both sides exchanged blows as Zelenskyy's Easter ceasefire offer went unanswered by Moscow.
What Happened Today
- A Russian drone struck a covered market in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast at 09:50 local time on April 4, killing five people — three women and two men — and wounding 25, including a 14-year-old girl in critical condition, according to regional military administration head Oleksandr Hanzha and Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office.
- Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) struck the Redkinsky Research Plant in Redkino, Tver Oblast, Russia; the plant produces fuel additives used in Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles, according to the Wikipedia timeline of the war citing the SBU.
- Russia launched 286 drones — approximately 200 of them Shahed-type — against Ukraine overnight on April 3–4; Ukraine's Air Force said 260 were intercepted, the Ukrainian Air Force stated.
- The Russian Defense Ministry claimed its forces fired 'long-range air- and ground-based precision weapons, as well as strike drones' at what it described as Ukrainian military-industrial and energy facilities, without specifying targets.
- In Russia's Rostov region, a Ukrainian strike on Taganrog killed one person and seriously wounded four, igniting a fire at a logistics warehouse and damaging a foreign-flagged dry-cargo vessel on the Sea of Azov, Rostov governor Yuri Slyusar said.
Contested Claims
- Ukrainian regional military administration head Oleksandr Hanzha; Ukraine Prosecutor General's Office; AFP: Five civilians were killed and 19–25 wounded in the Nikopol market strike, with casualties caused by a direct Russian drone impact. Ukrainian Defence Ministry official, as reported by BBC/Alltimepost: A Ukrainian Defence Ministry official attributed casualties in Taganrog to 'Russian air defence operations,' implying friendly-fire or intercept debris caused some civilian harm on the Russian side.
Unverified / Single Source
- (Unverified — state media only — single source, Moscow-backed administration with no independent corroboration) A family of three, including an eight-year-old child, was killed in a nighttime Ukrainian drone strike targeting railway infrastructure in Russian-occupied Luhansk. [Leonid Pasechnik, Russian-installed head of occupied Luhansk region]
- (Unverified — single source — no independent battlefield verification of damage extent) Ukraine's SBU halted production at the Alchevsk metallurgical plant in Russian-occupied Luhansk, damaging blast furnaces, distillation columns and electrical substations supplying Russia's Uralvagonzavod tank factory. [Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) Facebook statement]
Numbers
| Metric | Today | War Total |
|---|---|---|
| Killed in Nikopol market strike (April 4) | 5 | — |
| Wounded in Nikopol market strike (April 4) | 25 (incl. 1 aged 14 in critical condition) | — |
| Russian drones launched overnight April 3–4 | 286 (approx. 200 Shahed-type) | — |
| Russian drones intercepted overnight April 3–4 | 260 | — |
| Killed in Taganrog, Russia (Ukrainian strike) | 1 | — |
| Wounded in Taganrog, Russia | 4 (serious) | — |
| Russian troops occupying Ukrainian territory (April 2026) | — | ~20% of Ukraine |
| Combined Russian military casualties (killed and wounded) since Feb 2022 | — | ~1.2 million (incl. ~325,000 killed) |
| Ukrainian soldiers killed since Feb 2022 | — | ~55,000 confirmed KIA |
| Ukrainians internally displaced | — | ~8 million |
| Sources: Wikipedia / UNHCR data, Wall Street Journal, February 2026 estimate, Rostov governor Yuri Slyusar, Ukrainian Air Force, AFP; Ukraine Prosecutor General's Office, Wikipedia / ISW data, Oleksandr Hanzha, Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, President Zelenskyy, February 2026 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Where exactly is Nikopol and why is it frequently attacked? Nikopol is a city of approximately 100,000 people in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, southern Ukraine, situated directly across the Dnipro River from Russian-occupied territory. Its proximity to the front line makes it a persistent target; AFP reports nearly half its residents have already evacuated for safety.
What is the Redkinsky Research Plant in Tver Oblast and why did Ukraine target it? The Redkinsky Research Plant in Redkino, Tver Oblast, produces fuel additives used in Russia's Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles, according to the Russo-Ukrainian war timeline. Ukraine's SBU struck it to degrade Russia's long-range precision-strike supply chain.
Did Russia respond to Zelenskyy's Easter ceasefire proposal? No. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected Zelenskyy's Orthodox Easter ceasefire proposal, and Russia conducted a 286-drone overnight assault followed by a daytime market strike on April 4, the same day Zelenskyy traveled to Istanbul for diplomacy, according to Russia Matters and AP reports.
Background
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, in a major escalation of a conflict that began with Russia's 2014 attack on Ukraine. As of April 2026, Russian forces occupy approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory. The war has caused hundreds of thousands of military casualties on both sides and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian deaths, with both countries conducting sustained drone and missile campaigns against each other's territory and infrastructure.
Sources
- washingtontimes.com — washingtontimes.com (unknown date)
- bssnews.net — bssnews.net (unknown date)
- english.aaj.tv — english.aaj.tv (unknown date)
- euromaidanpress.com — euromaidanpress.com (unknown date)
- nbcnews.com — nbcnews.com (unknown date)
- en.wikipedia.org — en.wikipedia.org (unknown date)
- russiamatters.org — russiamatters.org (unknown date)
- kyivpost.com — kyivpost.com (unknown date)