'Three killed' in Russian strike on Kiev after Ukraine's attack on Russia

Ukraine has claimed that "falling debris" from intercepted Russian missiles targeting its capital city has killed three people in Kiev, after Ukrainian shelling of a southern Russian region injured five people.

Ukrainian officials declared on Thursday that an 11-year-old girl, her mother and another woman were killed and 10 others injured in Russian strike that hit the Desnyanskyi district on the capital's eastern outskirts. 

Ukraine's air force claimed that its Western-supplied air defense systems shot down all 10 Iskander cruise and ballistic missiles launched by Russia, but alleged that falling missile debris landed in a residential area, causing the casualties and damages to buildings and cars.

The Russian air strikes targeted Kiev in response to Ukraine's shelling of Russia's southern Belgorod region.

Russia has repeatedly targeted Kiev with waves of drone and missile attacks since the start of the Ukraine conflict, but attacks against the capital have reportedly intensified over the past month amid a publicity campaign by Western media outlets vowing a looming major counteroffensive by Kiev's forces. 

Ukrainian drone sparks fire at Russian refinery: Governor

A Russia official says a Ukrainian drone has likely caused a fire at an oil refinery in southern Russia.

The latest airstrike took place after Ukraine shelled the border town of Shebekino, leaving at least five people wounded.

Belgorod’s Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a Telegram post on Thursday that the overnight shelling has damaged multiple buildings, adding that two people were hospitalized as a result of the Ukrainian rocket strike.

"We are also receiving calls about multiple cases of damage to private residences and apartment blocks, some have had their walls pierced by shells," he said.

Russia began what it described as a "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 as part of a national security measure against the persisting eastern advance of the US-led NATO military alliance.

Moscow, Kiev targeted by drone strikes as fighting intensifies

Both Ukraine and Russia reported on Tuesday morning that their capitals have been targeted by drones coming from the other side.

Moscow also said the military operation was aimed at defending the pro-Russia population in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk against persecution by Kiev, and also to "de-Nazify" Ukraine.

Since the start of the war, the US and its Western allies have been providing Kiev with military equipment worth tens of billions of dollars. Western weapons supplied to Kiev include advanced missile systems, armored vehicles, tanks, and communication systems.

Long-range attack drones have been also added to the list of Western weapons supplied to the Ukrainian forces fighting against Russian troops.

Russia has repeatedly warned against flooding Ukraine with weapons, insisting the massive shipments of armaments to Kiev will only prolong the conflict.

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