Kharkiv regional governor Oleg Synegubov said Russian forces struck the city of Chuguiv overnight, killing four people, including a 22-year-old woman, and causing extensive damage to residential areas.“The enemy has hit the city of Chuguiv,” Synegubov wrote on Telegram, adding that the attack sparked fires, damaged at least 18 vehicles and shattered windows in multi-story apartment buildings.

Separately, Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov said 10 people were wounded in strikes on the regional capital, one of Ukraine’s most heavily targeted cities because of its proximity to the Russian border.The latest attacks come amid a sustained escalation in aerial warfare between Russia and Ukraine.

Russian missile and drone strikes have intensified in recent months, while Kyiv has expanded its own long-range drone operations against targets deep inside Russian territory, saying those attacks are primarily aimed at military and energy infrastructure supporting Moscow’s war effort.

Kharkiv region has remained a focal point of the conflict, with repeated attacks on civilian and industrial facilities despite international calls for greater protection of non-combatants.According to United Nations estimates published in April, at least 15,850 civilians have been killed in areas under Ukrainian control since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022. The UN said more than 2,800 civilians have also been killed in Russian-controlled territories.

The organization reported that more than 44,800 people have been wounded across Ukrainian-controlled and Russian-occupied areas since the start of the war.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine has shown signs of easing military operations, with both sides continuing regular drone and missile attacks as fighting persists along multiple sectors of the front line.