At least 11 people have been killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine, while Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s Kirov region killed six others, officials on both sides of the conflict said.
A Russian missile attack killed six people and wounded “dozens” in the Kyiv region on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
“A rescue operation is currently underway in the Kyiv region following a Russian missile strike … tragically, six people were killed,” Zelenskyy said.
Earlier, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko reported explosions in the city and called on residents to stay in shelters as air defence systems were operating.
Separately, Vadym Filashkin, the governor of the city of Sloviansk, said five people were killed and nine others injured after Moscow dropped two aviation bombs on the city.
“Russians attack our cities daily – and for the second day in a row, their attacks have led to numerous casualties in Sloviansk,” Filashkin said. “I call on everyone who is still near the front line: evacuate.”
Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine said: “It’s quite irregular for Russian attacks, especially ballistic ones, to take place during the daytime hours so this marks something new.”
Meanwhile in southern Mykolaiv region, a Russian drone attack on port infrastructure damaged two civilian vessels, acting regional governor Heorhii Reshetilov said on Telegram. No one was injured in that attack.
Russia also claimed to have taken control of the villages of Zakharivka and Ivashchyne in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, and also said Russia had struck 27 vessels used by the Ukrainian military in the past week.
“We’re getting reports from certain Telegram channels and officials that another massive attack could be imminent in the coming several days,” MacAlpine said. “These ballistic threats on cities around Ukraine have been escalating over the summer and show no signs of slowing down.”
