Russia said Monday that a Ukrainian strike on a bus in the border region of Belgorod killed five civilians, including a minor, and left three others critically injured.
The attack came after a Ukrainian retaliatory strike on Moscow, with city officials reporting that more than 400 drones targeted the Russian capital.
The latest escalation followed Russian ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities over the weekend.
In eastern Ukraine, Russian attacks on Pavlograd and Kramatorsk killed two people in each city, according to local authorities.
Officials also reported one person killed in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia during Russian bombardment.
Both sides have previously denied targeting civilians.
Ukraine launches large-scale drone attack on Moscow
Ukraine targeted the Russian capital with more than 400 drones from Sunday into Monday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
He added that most of the drones were intercepted, but Moscow region Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said at least 10 people were wounded by Ukrainian drones.
Several residential buildings and civilian infrastructure facilities were also damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces were targeting Russian logistics facilities and an oil depot in the region.
“We are responding, justly, to every Russian strike against our cities and communities,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
Ukraine rejects rumors of military leadership shake-up
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military publicly denied rumors that Zelenskyy was firing the chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Zelenskyy has faced criticism over the dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov last week.
There have been days of protests in Ukraine following Fedorov’s removal, as a long-running dispute between the reform-minded minister and Syrskyi spilled into the open.
Zelenskyy appointed Yevhenii Khmara, the acting head of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), as acting defense minister and asked parliament to approve him for the position.
On Monday, he posted several messages on social media showing him meeting with Ukraine’s top military commanders to discuss the latest developments in the war, which has dragged on for more than four years.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez
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