Russian strikes kill eight Ukrainians, more injured

Kremlin missiles on Friday struck a residential area in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv and killed a man, an elderly woman, and a 12-year-old boy, according to the Office of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General. The attack injured at least five more people while destroying three homes and a kindergarten, Ukrainian emergency services said. Another round of Russian missile strikes killed five civilians across four villages in the southeastern Donetsk region on Thursday, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office said. The residential attacks injured three more civilians, the office added.

The barrage came after a mass prisoner exchange on Wednesday, which marks the third exchange since May. Both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that each side released 95 soldiers for a total of 190 prisoners following negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates.

What has Russia said of the attacks? Kremlin officials have not commented on the strikes. Moscow previously denied intentionally attacking civilian areas. However, Russia has killed more than 560 children and injured over 1,400 more since its 2021 invasion, Ukrainian Emergency Services said.

Dig deeper: Read my report on another Russian strike that killed dozens of civilians earlier this month.