Local officials say Ukrainian strikes killed three in Russia and annexed Crimea

Local authorities said Ukrainian strikes killed three people, including a child, and wounded eight others in Russia and in Moscow-annexed Crimea on Thursday.

In the outskirts of Voronezh, about 500 kilometres south of Moscow, regional governor Alexander Gusev wrote on Telegram that a three-year-old boy died in a fire at his home after a drone crashed into it. He said the boy's parents suffered various wounds. Gusev also said a young man was wounded in a separate drone attack in the same area.

In Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, regional authorities said on Telegram that a Ukrainian drone struck a vehicle, killing one man and wounding another.

In Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, Moscow-installed governor Sergei Aksyonov said a Ukrainian attack killed one person and wounded four others, including two children.

The source reported that, in the fifth year of the war, Moscow and Kyiv have escalated air strikes deep behind each other's lines, while front-line fighting has remained at a standstill. It said the civilian toll has reached its highest level since 2022.

The source also reported that US-led talks on resolving the conflict have stalled since Washington turned more attention to the Middle East, while Russia continues to demand that Ukraine cede territory.