Russian attacks on eastern Ukrainian cities kill four, officials say

Moscow-Russian attacks on cities in Ukraine’s east and southeast killed four people and set fire to a residence and a shopping center, officials said.

In Sloviansk in the Donetsk region, prosecutors said three people were killed in two bomb attacks and five were injured. The area is part of Ukraine’s heavily fortified “fortress belt” on the front line.

In Zaporizhzhia, national police reported a wave of dozens of drone strikes that killed one person in a car and injured seven others. Regional officials said there were five strikes in total, damaging homes, a shopping center, and an educational institution.

Images showed burning buildings and severe structural damage.

Reuters said it could not independently verify the reports. Both Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians in the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.