Deadly Russian Barrage Hits Kyiv and Other Ukrainian Cities as Fighting Intensifies

At least seven people were killed and more than 50 injured Monday in a series of Russian attacks across Ukraine, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The strikes extended across several parts of the country, with Russian weapons hitting residential buildings, workplaces, data facilities and a prominent scientific institution in the center of Kyiv. The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine was among the sites damaged in the attacks.

CBS News correspondent Aidan Stretch was again forced to seek shelter from incoming Russian weapons shortly after reaching the scene outside the damaged science academy in Kyiv.

The latest escalation came as international diplomatic efforts continued at the United Nations, where governments have been seeking progress toward negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its fifth year.

The Kremlin offered little indication that a rapid diplomatic breakthrough was approaching. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed to recent Ukrainian attacks, including those carried out during Russia’s parliamentary elections, as a reason for the bleak outlook.

“Ukraine will have to pay a price for the actions that have taken place in recent months,” Peskov told reporters. “That is happening right now.”

Speaking to the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also accused European governments of standing in the way of negotiations involving Washington.

“Europe is doing everything it can to thwart peace talks in which the Trump administration is interested,” Lavrov said, as Moscow continued portraying the war as exposing divisions among NATO members.

Kyiv among cities struck in latest drone campaign

The Kyiv region suffered multiple casualties as Russian drones struck a number of locations. Officials reported four deaths and eight injuries in the region.

One of those killed was a woman who died Monday afternoon when a strike hit Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district. The city’s military administration said the National Academy of Sciences was damaged, adding the institution to the list of significant sites affected by the fighting. A pharmaceutical facility and several gas stations were also struck.

Elsewhere in central Ukraine, a drone attack on an office complex in Dnipro occurred during business hours. Local authorities said three people died and at least 12 others were wounded.

Kharkiv also came under attack. A nine-story residential building in the northeastern city was struck, leaving 43 people injured, including 11 children, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

In the Chernihiv region, four people — among them two teenage girls — were injured Sunday evening after a Russian drone hit a residential area, regional military administrator Viacheslav Chaus said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that its forces had attacked two data centers in Kyiv and several gas stations. It also said a distribution facility operated by postal company Nova Poshta was struck in Odesa.

The Russian military additionally reported attacks on two ships — one operating in the Black Sea and another located at the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk.

Moscow said the attacks were intended to interfere with Ukraine’s grain shipments. Any prolonged disruption to those exports could also have consequences for nations that depend on Ukrainian agricultural products.

Civilian locations have frequently been affected by Russian airstrikes during the war, although the Kremlin maintains that its forces concentrate their attacks on military targets.

Ukraine reports battlefield gains in Donetsk

Despite months of relatively limited movement along much of the front, Ukrainian troops have launched a new offensive known as Operation Vivaldi.

Ukraine’s Third Army Corps said its forces had taken another 20 square miles of territory, putting the total area it says it has regained during the operation at 68 square miles.

The Ukrainian military said it had employed modified Soviet-era BTR-60 armored vehicles as remotely operated explosive weapons against heavily fortified Russian positions. Ground-based robotic systems were also reportedly used during the offensive.

The reported advances are in Donetsk, an eastern Ukrainian region that Russian forces have spent years trying to capture.

Russia had not immediately issued a response to Ukraine’s claims regarding the reported territorial gains.

Instead, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that its forces had taken control of two settlements: Novovodiane in Donetsk and Ulanove in the Sumy region.

The competing battlefield claims could not be independently confirmed.

Ukraine targets sites inside Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had carried out long-range attacks against defense-related facilities in Russia’s Tula and Voronezh regions, along with oil infrastructure in Krasnodar.

Ukraine has increasingly used long-range drones to strike Russian fuel storage sites and industrial facilities that contribute to Moscow’s economy and military operations.

Russian authorities in Krasnodar said Ukrainian overnight drone attacks ignited fires at three infrastructure locations. Officials did not specify exactly which facilities were affected.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air-defense forces intercepted 254 Ukrainian drones during the overnight barrage.