Russia launches 'hellish' overnight drone bombardment of Ukraine

LONDON -- At least four people were killed in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro by a massed Russian overnight drone strike, officials reported, with 22 others injured.

The attack sparked large fires that engulfed a restaurant complex and several residential buildings, local officials in the country's fourth largest city said.

At least 10 private homes and a high-rise apartment building were damaged, while four houses and dozens of cars were destroyed, according to Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the surrounding Dnipropetrovsk region.

Lysak said on Telegram that 13 people remain hospitalized, including three who are in serious condition. The fires have since been contained, he added, though described the scene as "hellish."

Elsewhere, another seven people were injured in the central city of Kryvyi Rih, the home town of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, by a ballistic missile strike, according to the head of the regional military administration Oleksandr Vilkul. None of them were seriously wounded, he added.

In total, Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 172 attack drones toward Ukraine overnight, of which 94 were shot down and 69 failed to reach their targets. The rest struck the Ukrainian regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Sumy, according to the air force.

Zelenskyy said Thursday that Russia is preparing to launch a major offensive in the coming weeks, and Western diplomats, independent military analysts and Ukrainian troops also told the Associated Press they assess Russia is preparing a multipronged offensive into Ukraine.

There are already signs Russia has begun new offensive operations in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region.

"Russia is getting ready for new offensives against the Sumy, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions," Zelenskyy said. "They're dragging out the talks and trying to get the U.S. stuck in endless, pointless discussions about fake 'conditions' just to buy time and then try to grab more land. Putin wants to negotiate over territory from a stronger position."

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War assessed Friday that "the Kremlin remains committed to its goal to prolong any negotiations for a temporary frontline ceasefire or permanent peace agreement in order to continue making incremental gains on the battlefield and establish favorable conditions to pursue Ukraine's complete capitulation."

Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram that there was "destruction in every region that was hit" in the overnight attack.

"Russia is mocking the world's peacekeeping efforts -- dragging out the war and perpetrating this terror because it still feels no real pressure," Zelenskyy added.

"Diplomacy can work, but it is backed up by steps that strengthen our soldiers and deprive the occupiers of resources for war," he added. "The partners know what can help, what kind of pressure, and it depends on America, on Europe, on everyone in the world who wants effective diplomacy."

Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces shot down five Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday morning.

ABC News' Yuriy Zaliznyak, Patrick Reevell and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.