Russian attacks kill three in Ukrainian cities

Russian attacks killed three people in two different Ukrainian cities on Sunday and struck different districts of the capital Kyiv, local officials said.

Russian forces have long staged intensive attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, mostly at night, but in recent weeks they have launched strikes almost continuously throughout the day.

In the northern city of Sumy, a frequent Russian target near the border, three glide bombs struck near a family support centre, killing two people, regional governor Oleh Hryhorov wrote on Telegram.

Russia has long said it intends to turn areas of the Sumy region into a buffer zone.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city in the northeast and another frequent target, a drone struck a car, killing the driver, prosecutors said.

And in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a drone had struck a high-rise apartment building and triggered a fire in an eastern suburb, wounding one person. Emergency crews extinguished the blaze.

Drones hit areas near a kindergarten and a playground in two districts, Klitschko said, and other areas in the city also suffered damage, though no casualties were reported.

Both sides in the more than 4-1/2-year-old war deny targeting civilians.