At least four people were killed and 15 others injured in Russian strikes on Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv and southwestern Odesa regions, local authorities said Monday, as Moscow claimed to have fresh gains.
"According to preliminary data, three people were killed, 13 more were injured, including four children," said a statement by Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (DSNS) on Telegram.
It noted that missile strikes targeted a residential area in the city of Balakliia, situated about 70 kilometers (43.4 miles) southeast of the country’s second-largest city of Kharkiv.
The statement said that residential buildings, as well as cars, high-rise apartments, and a kindergarten, were damaged in the attack, adding that all fires that broke out as a result of the attack were promptly extinguished.
Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Synyehubov said that units from the State Emergency Service continue to work at the site of the attack.
Meanwhile, Vitalii Karabanov, the head of Balakliia’s city military administration, claimed two missiles hit the city.
The DSNS later reported a drone strike targeting the village of Velykyi Burluk, also in the Kharkiv region, which it said killed one person and injured another.
Separately, the DSNS reported that the country’s southwestern Odesa region was also targeted overnight with drone strikes, which it said caused fires at energy and port infrastructure facilities.
"According to preliminary information, one person was injured," it went on to say.
Ukrainian private energy provider DTEK said that its energy facilities were attacked in Odesa overnight, which it said has left 32,500 subscribers temporarily without electricity.
"Our energy workers will begin restoration work immediately after receiving permission from the military and rescuers. The damage is significant. Repairs will take time," it noted.
Ukraine's Air Force later claimed that its air defenses shot down 91 out of 128 various types of drones launched by Russia. It claimed that two Iskander-M ballistic missiles were also launched overnight.
Russian authorities have not immediately commented on the strike.
The Russian army, however, claimed Monday that it seized three more villages across eastern Ukraine – the latest in its grinding advance.
Russia's latest claimed advances came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was touring European allies to garner support for his depleted army and the country's battered energy infrastructure.
Moscow said its troops had captured the settlements of Gai in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Platonivka in the Donetsk region, and Dvorichanske in the Kharkiv region.
The Agence France-Presse (AFP) was unable to verify the claims.
Much of eastern Ukraine has been decimated since Russia launched its all-out offensive in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes and tens of thousands killed.
Videos published by the Russian Defense Ministry show recent frontline settlements it has captured, destroyed by aerial attacks, with usually only a few, if any, inhabitants left.
The most intense fighting at the moment is for control of the key logistical hub Pokrovsk, where Ukraine has conceded that hundreds of Russian troops have entered the city.
Though it holds an advantage in manpower and weapons on the sprawling front, Russia's territorial advances have been slow and costly as both sides are heavily entrenched.
Efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump to force a peace deal have stalled as Moscow has rejected calls for a cease-fire and refused to drop hardline territorial demands.
