Russia-Ukraine strikes kill at least 14, officials say

Officials in Russia and Ukraine said attacks across both countries killed at least 14 people on Sunday, as Moscow and Kyiv continued long-range strikes nearly four-and-a-half years into the war.

Russian officials said Ukrainian attacks killed at least nine people. Alexander Shuvaev, acting governor of Russia's Belgorod region, said four people were killed there, including a 13-year-old girl near a playground.

Officials said a separate drone attack on Russia's Saratov region, which borders Kazakhstan, killed two people. Olga Abramova, acting governor of Udmurtia, said a Ukrainian drone strike on a car in that region killed three people more than 1,000 kilometres from the front line. She said the victims “were definitely not a military target”.

In Ukraine, regional authorities said Russian strikes killed two people in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region and at least one person each in the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Postal operator Nova Poshta said another Russian strike destroyed a postal terminal in the northern Kharkiv region and killed a postal worker.

The reported exchange came amid signs that both sides are increasing the scale and intensity of attacks. Civilian casualties in Ukraine have soared this year as Russia has increased its use of long-range missiles, according to UN data.

Kyiv has launched waves of retaliatory strikes on Russia, including on energy facilities and retail warehouses, saying it wants to pressure Moscow into negotiations on ending its offensive.

Both Moscow and Kyiv deny targeting civilians. US-led talks on ending the war have been effectively frozen since February.