KYIV, Ukraine, July 19, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa killed at least one person, its mayor said early Saturday, while Moscow said it intercepted dozens of Ukrainian drones.

"Odesa was attacked by enemy strike drones -- more than 20 UAVs approached the city from different directions," Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov wrote on Telegram.

"Civilian infrastructure was damaged as a result of the attack. A residential high-rise building is on fire," and rescuers were pulling people out, he said.

"As of now, it has been confirmed that one person died," he added.

The Odesa region's emergency service said later that five people were rescued from burning apartments but "one rescued woman died".

The Black Sea port, known for its picturesque streets of 19th-century buildings, has been regularly targeted by Russian strikes in the more than three-year war. The southern city's historic centre is on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

The Russian defence ministry, meanwhile, said its air defence systems destroyed 87 Ukrainian drones in a five-hour period Friday evening, including 48 over the Bryansk region bordering northern Ukraine, and five over the Moscow region.

Russia has escalated long-range aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities as well as frontline assaults and shelling over recent weeks, defying US President Donald Trump's warning that Moscow could face massive new sanctions if no peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian authorities said Friday that Russian strikes killed at least six people across the country's east and south.

The European Union and Britain on Friday sought to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to halt the war by slashing a price cap meant to choke off revenues from key oil exports.

The move from the EU was part of a sweeping new package of sanctions that also took aim at Moscow's banking sector and military capabilities.