Least five Ukrainians killed after heavy bombing of eastern cities

At least five Ukrainians were reported killed and 29 others injured in Russian air strikes on Friday as fighting intensified across eastern and south-eastern Ukraine. Regional officials said Russian forces advanced to just over 20 kilometers of Zaporizhzhya, using glide bombs released by fighter aircraft from high altitude to hit targets dozens of kilometers away. In Donetsk, Vadym Filashkin reported at least four deaths and 13 injuries after seven glide bombs were dropped on Kramatorsk and the nearby settlement of Bilenke. In Zaporizhzhya, Governor Ivan Fedorov said at least one civilian was killed and 16 were injured, with the Kremlin targeting the city center and destroying more than a dozen houses. The report noted that Ukraine has been defending against the full-scale invasion since early 2022, amid concerns about continued bombardment.