Fresh Russia-Ukraine strikes have killed at least five people and injured dozens as both sides intensify long-range attacks amid stalled prospects for a peace agreement.
Russian strikes killed two people and injured dozens across Ukraine overnight Saturday and Sunday, while a Ukrainian drone attack killed three people in Russia’s Belgorod region, according to officials.
In Ukraine, two people were killed in a Russian drone strike in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The attack also destroyed four floors of a residential building.
Regional governor Oleg Synegoubov said 23 people were injured in the attack. Images from the scene showed a badly damaged building as emergency workers battled the aftermath.
Zelensky said eight people were also injured in Odesa, where Russian strikes damaged the power grid, port facilities and residential buildings.
He also condemned what he described as another “absolutely brutal” strike targeting energy infrastructure near a shopping centre in Pavlohrad, in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Nine people, including four children, were injured in the attack, according to the Ukrainian president.
Zelensky said Russia had fired 61 missiles of various types at Ukraine during the week, accusing Moscow of relying on what he called “ballistic terror”.
“More pressure, more sanctions against Russia and more air defence for Ukraine are needed,” he said.
Three killed in Russian border region
In Russia, three people were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the border city of Belgorod, according to acting regional governor Alexander Shuvaev.
Twenty-five people, including children aged four and nine, were also injured, he said.
The attack reportedly sparked fires involving cars, two apartment buildings and a house.
Meanwhile, Russia’s army claimed on Sunday that it had captured two small villages in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. The claim had not been independently verified.
One of the villages, Vasiutynske, is located about 10 kilometres from Kramatorsk, a major Ukrainian urban and logistical hub.
The latest Russia-Ukraine strikes come as the war continues more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with both countries increasingly relying on long-range attacks.
The conflict has continued with diplomatic efforts for a peace agreement largely stalled.
