At least nine people were killed in Ukrainian attacks on Russia, while Russian strikes on Ukraine left at least five dead, officials in both countries said, underscoring the widening toll of an increasingly intense war.
The latest barrage comes as Moscow and Kyiv appear to be expanding both the reach and force of their attacks, nearly four-and-a-half years into a conflict that has ground on with no lasting settlement in sight.
United Nations data shows civilian casualties in Ukraine have surged this year, as Russia has intensified its deployment of long-range missiles that are difficult to intercept.
Ukraine has responded with repeated strikes inside Russia, targeting energy infrastructure and retail warehouses as Kyiv seeks to increase pressure on Moscow and push it toward negotiations to end the offensive.
“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 incompatible with life,” he said.
In Russia’s Saratov region, which borders Kazakhstan, a separate drone attack killed two people. Three others died when a Ukrainian drone struck a car in the Udmurtia region, more than 1,000 kilometres from the front line, acting regional governor Olga Abramova said.
“This act is monstrous in its senselessness. These people were definitely not a military target,” she said.
Russian strikes in Ukraine killed two people in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region and at least one person in each of the southern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, regional authorities reported.
Another Russian attack destroyed a postal terminal in the northern Kharkiv region and killed a postal worker, mail operator Nova Poshta said.
US-led efforts to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II have effectively stalled since February, when the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran.
Both Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians.
