At least 18 civilians killed in Russian attacks, officials say
Officials in Ukraine say Russian drones, missiles and artillery have killed at least 18 civilians and injured more than 100 others.
Russian forces have relentlessly bombarded civilian areas of Ukraine throughout the war, which is now in its fourth year.
More than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, according to the United Nations. Ukraine has also launched long-range drones against Russia, hitting residential areas.
A Russian ballistic missile attack on Dnipro hit multiple civilian sites in the central Ukrainian city around midday on Tuesday, killing nine people and injuring scores more, local officials said.
In the nearby town of Samar, an attack killed two people and injured 11, Dnipro's regional administration head Serhii Lysak wrote on Telegram.
Russia also shelled residentianeighbourhoodsds and critical infrastructure across Ukraine's southern region of Kherson, killing four civilians and wounding at least 11 others, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the regional military administration.
As previously reported, in the Sumy region of north-eastern Ukraine, a drone attack last night killed three civilians, including a five-year-old boy, and injured six others, local authorities said.
Among the injured were two 17-year-old girls and a 12-year-old boy, according to officials.
Meanwhile, Russian air defence forces overnight shot down 20 Ukrainian drones, the Russian Defence Ministry reported this morning. It said 14 were downed over the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, while two had been flying over the Moscow province.
One drone slammed into a tower block on the outskirts of the Russian capital, sparking a fire on its 17th floor, local governor Andrei Vorobyov said today. He said a 34-year-old resident suffered shrapnel wounds to his arm and leg. Two other drones were shot down on the approach to Moscow, according to mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
Air traffic was briefly halted as a precaution at two major Moscow airports, a representative of Russia's aviation authority Rosaviatsiya said.