Russian strikes on cities in eastern and southeastern Ukraine have killed at least four people, according to officials and prosecutors, with residential buildings and a shopping centre among the sites set ablaze in the latest wave of attacks.
Prosecutors in the Donetsk region said three people were killed in two separate bomb strikes in the city of Sloviansk, a key frontline area in Ukraine’s heavily fortified “fortress belt”. Five others were reported injured in the attacks.
In southeastern Ukraine, the city of Zaporizhzhia was also hit by a series of drone strikes, with national police reporting that one person was killed while inside a vehicle and several others were wounded.
Regional authorities said dozens of drones were launched in the assault, causing widespread damage across the city. Fires broke out in residential areas and a shopping centre, while an educational facility was also reported to have been damaged.
Images circulating online showed burning buildings and damaged rooftops, with at least one structure partially destroyed following the strikes. Officials said the situation remained tense as emergency crews responded to multiple impact sites.
Ivan Fedorov, the governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, said there had been at least five separate strikes on the city, adding that the attacks caused significant destruction across civilian infrastructure.
Reuters noted that it could not independently verify the claims, while both Russia and Ukraine continue to deny intentionally targeting civilians during the ongoing conflict that began with Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
The latest escalation adds to mounting casualties in frontline regions as the war continues to intensify across multiple Ukrainian cities.
