Russia and Ukraine have exchanged a fresh wave of deadly strikes, with at least 16 people reported killed and dozens more injured in attacks on both sides.

Ukrainian strikes killed nine people and injured 23 others in Russia over the past 24 hours, according to local officials. Eight of those killed were in the western Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, while a woman was killed in the southern Astrakhan region.

In Belgorod, acting regional governor Alexandr Shuvaev said a building was set on fire and a car was damaged in the village of Koloskovo. An injured child was taken to hospital, while two other people received medical treatment.

In Astrakhan, Governor Igor Babushkin said a Ukrainian drone struck a house, killing a woman. He said the attack had targeted an industrial facility, which was not damaged.

The attacks followed what Russia described as Ukraine’s largest-scale assault of the year. Moscow said at least seven people were killed in Ukrainian strikes overnight on Saturday.

Russia’s drone and missile attacks also killed at least seven people in Ukraine on the same night and injured more than 39 others.

In the eastern Donetsk region, two people were killed in Russian strikes on Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. The attacks also set fire to 54 trading stalls at a market in Sloviansk.

Two more people were killed in a Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s north-eastern Sumy region, officials said.

In Odesa, a major Black Sea port city, a separate overnight attack damaged a civilian vessel and injured four people.

Ukraine has significantly increased its long-range drone attacks inside Russia in recent weeks. On Saturday night, Ukrainian forces launched about 822 drones towards Russia, according to Russian officials, with around 600 reportedly aimed at Moscow.

Russian authorities described the assault on the capital as one of the largest drone attacks in recent memory.

The strikes also hit Russia’s Rostov region, where five people were killed, while a woman died after a civilian bus was attacked in Belgorod. An 83-year-old man was also killed in a drone attack in the Moscow region.

A warehouse belonging to Wildberries, one of Russia’s largest online retailers, was also damaged.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Wildberries facilities since July, arguing that Russia’s civilian logistics networks are being used to support its military operations.

Ukraine’s defence ministry said the latest attack had brought the number of major Wildberries logistics centres put out of operation to seven out of 10.

Maj Gen Vadym Skibitski, deputy chief of Ukraine’s intelligence service, told the BBC that Ukraine would continue carrying out long-range strikes against targets inside Russia.

He defended attacks on distribution warehouses, saying some were part of Russia’s military logistics system. He also insisted that Ukraine did not deliberately target civilians.

Russia, meanwhile, has intensified its attacks across Ukraine, particularly against energy and industrial infrastructure.

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Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz said on Monday that Russian forces had attacked its facilities 13 times during the previous week.

In Saturday night’s Russian attacks, two people were killed when a private home in the Zaporizhzhia region was hit by a guided aerial bomb. Five other people were killed in attacks elsewhere in Ukraine.

Russia said its strikes on Kyiv targeted a facility producing components for Ukraine’s Flamingo missiles and a factory making drone parts.

A book market in Kyiv’s Pochayna district was also hit, with images showing burnt books scattered across the area.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had attacked 13 regions during the previous week, launching more than 1,550 drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs and 62 missiles.

Both Moscow and Kyiv accuse the other of deliberately targeting civilians, while each side maintains that its attacks are directed at military or strategic infrastructure.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and currently controls roughly a fifth of Ukrainian territory. The latest escalation comes as both sides continue to rely increasingly on drones and long-range weapons to strike targets far from the front line.

(BBC News)