Russia says 652 civilians killed near border during hostilities

MOSCOW/KYIV — Ukrainian attacks on Russian regions on and near the border with Ukraine have killed 652 civilians so far, Russia said on Sunday, while Ukraine's authorities reported Russian shelling overnight killed one person and injured two more in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk.

The head of Russia's Investigative Committee told the TASS news agency in remarks published on Sunday that Ukrainian attacks on Russian regions have killed 652 civilians so far.

Twenty-three children were among those killed, Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the committee, told TASS. Nearly 3,000 have been wounded, he added.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in their attacks on each other in the conflict that started three years ago.

As the world gears up to resolve the Ukraine crisis, fighting on the battlefield has not shown signs of easing.

Kramatorsk city Mayor Oleksandr Goncharenko wrote on the Telegram messaging app: "Kramatorsk was subjected to hostile shelling — residential district."

Goncharenko said two people, a man and a woman, were also injured.

Ukraine's air defense units destroyed 63 of the 79 Russian drones that attacked overnight in several Ukrainian regions, the country's air force said on Telegram.

A Russian drone attack on the city of Zaporizhzhia injured one civilian, the governor of the broader Zaporizhzhia region, of which the city is the administrative center, said on Telegram.

The attack sparked a massive fire at a residential building, destroying its roof, causing it to partially collapse and spreading over an area of 300 square meters, governor Ivan Fedorov said.

Meanwhile, the Russian defense ministry said on Saturday that its forces had captured Sudne and Burlatske in the south of the eastern Donetsk region.

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia had launched 154 drones overnight, of which 103 were downed and 51 disappeared from the radar without causing damage or casualties.

Ukrainian regional authorities, however, reported one death and several injuries.

Agencies via Xinhua