Ukraine, Russia exchange attacks, five dead

Bangla Press Desk: Ukraine and Russia launched attacks on each other's territory early on Wednesday, leaving at least five people dead, authorities on the two sides said.

In Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, a missile strike killed three people in the village of Maslova Pristan, about 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the border, the local governor said.

The governor said the strike partially collapsed a "social facility" and posted images of what appeared to be a sports hall, its facade partially shattered.

"Three people were killed and one was wounded," Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.

"There may be people under the rubble," he added.

Meanwhile, a Russian strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson killed an elderly couple, the region's governor said.

"As a result of the enemy strike, a 62-year-old woman and an elderly man, whose identity is currently being established, were fatally wounded," governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Russia fired at least 183 drones at Ukrainian territory between late Tuesday and early Wednesday, the Ukrainian air force said.

Moscow's defence ministry said it had intercepted 53 Ukrainian drones overnight, most of them over the Belgorod region, a frequent target of the attacks.

Both Moscow and Kyiv deny targeting civilians.

Kyiv is ramping up retaliatory strikes on Russia's energy and oil infrastructure, in what it sees as a legitimate response to Moscow's offensive and its daily attacks on Ukrainian cities, which have at times left millions without heating and power.

BP/SP