At least 14 people have been killed in fresh attacks exchanged by Ukraine and Russia, according to officials from both countries, as fighting intensifies nearly four-and-a-half years into the war.
Ukrainian attacks on Russia reportedly killed at least nine people on Sunday, while Russian strikes on Ukraine claimed at least five lives, officials said.
The latest exchange of attacks comes amid growing signs that both Moscow and Kyiv are escalating the scale and intensity of their military operations, despite stalled international efforts to broker a ceasefire.
According to United Nations data, civilian casualties in Ukraine have risen sharply this year as Russia increases the use of long-range missiles that are difficult to intercept.
Ukraine has also stepped up retaliatory strikes inside Russian territory, targeting infrastructure including energy facilities and warehouses in an effort to pressure Moscow into negotiations aimed at ending the conflict.
In Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, regional officials said Ukrainian attacks killed four people, including a 13-year-old girl who was near a playground.
Acting Governor Alexander Shuvaev said emergency responders were unable to save the teenager despite efforts by medical personnel.
“The 13-year-old girl was gravely wounded. Medics who arrived at the scene took all possible measures to save her, but her injuries were not compatible with life,” he said.
A separate drone strike on Russia’s Saratov region, near the border with Kazakhstan, killed two people, while three others were killed after a Ukrainian drone reportedly struck a car in Russia’s Udmurtia region, more than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from the front line.
Commenting on the attack, Udmurtia’s Acting Governor Olga Abramova condemned the strike.
“This act is monstrous in its senselessness. These people were definitely not a military target.”
In Ukraine, regional authorities said Russian attacks killed two people in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, while one person each was killed in the southern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
A separate Russian strike destroyed a postal terminal in the Kharkiv region, killing a postal worker, according to Ukrainian postal operator Nova Poshta.
Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have remained largely at a standstill. US-led peace talks aimed at ending Europe’s deadliest war since World War II have been effectively frozen since February, following joint United States and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Both Russia and Ukraine continue to deny deliberately targeting civilians during the conflict.
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