AFP8 June 2025 | 6:00

Russian strikes kill one in central Ukraine: official

The industrial region of Dnipropetrovsk was hit by drones, artillery and rocket launchers, destroying buildings and power lines.

Russian strikes kill one in central Ukraine: official

FILE: Ukrainian firefighters extinguish a fire on a site following an air attack, in the Odesa region, on 26 August 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Picture: AFP

KYIV - Russian strikes pummelled central Ukraine overnight, killing one person and causing widespread damage, regional officials said Sunday.

The industrial region of Dnipropetrovsk was hit by drones, artillery and rocket launchers, destroying buildings and power lines.

Russia has accelerated its advance in recent weeks as the latest negotiations in Istanbul failed to broker an end to the three-year war.

"The invaders struck... Synelnykivsky district with a guided aerial bomb. A man was killed. Our sincere condolences to his family," Dnipropetrovsk Council chief Mykola Lukashuk said.

"Five private houses and a kindergarten were also damaged," he added.

In Nikopol district, a business, four homes and power lines were damaged.

Russian strikes had hit Dnipropetrovsk days earlier in an attack on army training facilities that killed 12 soldiers.

Moscow has unleashed a barrage of attacks in recent days, vowing to retaliate over a brazen attack by Kyiv on Russian air bases.

Both sides accuse the other of delaying a large-scale prisoner exchange -- the only concrete outcome of the talks in Istanbul.

The prisoner swap, originally due to take place this weekend, would see more than 1,000 people released from each side.

But Moscow accused Ukraine on Saturday of not agreeing a date to swap the captured soldiers, while Kyiv said Russia was playing "dirty games" by not sticking to the agreed parameters for the swap.