A Russian airstrike on the center of Ukraine’s northern city of Sumy killed at least three people and injured several others, including children, on Friday, according to regional governor Oleh Hryhorov.
The strike hit a densely populated area, damaging a high-rise apartment building, a shop and a nearby street. Emergency services responded to the scene as civilians, including families, were caught in the attack.
Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian forces had fully captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka after intense fighting. He said President Vladimir Putin had been briefed by military commanders on the advance.
Kostyantynivka had been one of Ukraine’s last key defensive positions on the route to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, both major Russian objectives in the Donbas. Peskov also said Russian forces now control the entire Lugansk region, one of the two regions that make up the Donbas.
The developments underscore the war’s dual impact, combining deadly attacks on civilians with continued military advances in eastern Ukraine.
