Eight killed in wave of Russian strikes on Ukraine

A barrage of Russian drone and missile strikes pummelled Ukraine on Thursday, killing six agricultural workers in the east and two people in the capital, Kyiv, in the latest in an intensifying exchange of attacks.

The strikes, which triggered air raid sirens and sent locals scurrying underground for shelter, came after both Kyiv and Moscow were at the United Nations and vowed no let-up in their long-range attacks, dimming any immediate prospects for peace in Europe's worst conflict since World War II.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in New York seeking more Western military support and stronger sanctions against the Kremlin, accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure.

Russian attacks have "reached a new level of intensity", killing at least 200 ordinary people across Ukraine so far this month and leaving 1,234 wounded, according to preliminary UN figures.

"What stands out is the frequency of the attacks and the striking range of civilian facilities being impacted: places where people live, work, shop and receive essential services," said the head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), Danielle Bell.

Ukraine has meanwhile stepped up its attack on Russia, again with increasing civilian casualties, in what HRMMU called an "escalatory trend" that was illegal under international humanitarian law.

Three people were killed in Ukrainian drone strikes in the Russian-occupied Lugansk region, the governor there said.

In Kyiv, the increase in attacks has also prompted residents to consider contingency plans for the winter, if Russian strikes once again knock out the energy system vital for heating in bitter sub-zero temperatures.

Burnt-out cars and the smouldering remains of buildings were seen after Thursday's early morning attacks that the authorities said included powerful ballistic missiles.

At least two people were killed across the city, Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky said.

In the Kharkiv region, the regional prosecutor's office published images showing the inside of a destroyed warehouse, with what appeared to be piles of apples strewn on the floor and a gaping hole in the roof.

The storage facility in the Chuguiv district, southeast of Kharkiv, was hit as employees were sorting vegetables, it added.

- Drone-missile hybrid -

Russia's military is suspected to have used a small, low-cost hybrid weapon called a "Banderol", which combines characteristics of a cruise missile and an attack drone that it has previously deployed on a large scale, notably to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences.

In and around Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa, officials said Russian strikes caused a fire at a shopping mall and also hit houses and businesses.

The latest attacks came a day after a series of Russian strikes killed at least seven people in Ukraine and sparked fires in Kyiv.

The capital, which is home to some three million people, has been the target of particularly intense drone attacks in recent days, hitting petrol stations, warehouses and the rail network.

The Nova Post postal and courier company said one of its branches was destroyed and its sorting depot was damaged in Thursday's strikes.

AFP analysis of data from the ACLED armed conflict monitor showed that there were more Russian strikes on the Kyiv region in the first 18 days of September than in any full month since the start of the war apart from March 2022.

Zelensky met NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in New York to brief him on the latest security situation, and made a renewed push for US-made interceptors against ballistic missiles and tougher sanctions on Russia.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged both sides not to target the other's energy sector. He also invited President Vladimir Putin to attend the G20 summit in the United States in December.

The Kremlin said it would consider the invitation while the European Union said it would use the summit to keep condemning Russia's war on Ukraine.