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A Russian strike on a shopping centre in Pavlograd, central Ukraine, has killed three people and wounded 34 others.
The attack occurred in broad daylight on Thursday while streets in the city centre were crowded with people.
“About an hour ago, the Russians struck a shopping centre in Pavlograd city centre. It happened in broad daylight whilst the streets were packed with people,” Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s Public Prosecutor’s Office and regional governor Oleksandr Ganja confirmed the provisional toll, saying commercial premises and vehicles were also damaged.
The attack comes as Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range strikes hundreds of kilometres behind the front lines.
The strikes have increasingly targeted civilian sites, alongside factories, refineries, warehouses and ports.
United Nations-verified figures show that civilian deaths in Ukraine are at their highest level since the early months of Russia’s invasion.
The latest attack comes despite renewed efforts to end the war, with several rounds of negotiations failing to produce a breakthrough.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that talks to end the conflict could take place this month.
However, Moscow continues to demand that Kyiv surrender territory in the eastern Donetsk region that remains under Ukrainian control.
Russia has also demanded that Ukraine give up Western military support.
Kyiv has rejected the terms, calling them equivalent to capitulation and warning that they could allow Moscow to prepare for another attack.
Ukraine has also accused Russia of seeking to install a Moscow-friendly government in Kyiv.
