Several killed as Ukraine, Russia trade attacks deep behind the front line

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported that at least eight people were killed on Thursday as Russia and Ukraine exchanged strikes far from the main front line. Officials on both sides said four people died in Ukraine and four others were killed in Russia and Russian-annexed Crimea, including a child. The attacks come as both countries increasingly target areas behind enemy lines while the ground war remains largely static.

In Russia, regional Governor Alexander Gusev said a three-year-old boy died near Voronezh, about 500km south of Moscow, after a drone crashed into his home and caused a fire. His parents were wounded, and another young man was injured in a separate drone incident, according to the report. In Belgorod, Russian authorities said a drone hit a vehicle, killing one man and injuring another. Moscow-installed officials in Crimea said Ukrainian attacks there killed two people and wounded four.

In Ukraine, officials said a Russian strike on a food business in Pavlohrad, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, killed three people and injured at least 10, with a fire reported at the site. Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne also reported that a 57-year-old man was killed by mortar fire in the northeastern Sumy region while he was in his yard.

The report also noted Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed its forces had taken Bilytske near Pokrovsk, while Ukraine’s General Staff said it had repelled numerous Russian assaults in the area and had not confirmed the Russian claim. Separately, EU envoys agreed on a new sanctions package targeting Russian banks, cryptocurrency operators, vessels, refineries and military-industrial entities, with some exemptions related to Russian LNG transfers.