KYIV: Russian strikes along the Ukraine war front line on Monday killed four civilians, including a 71-year-old man riding a bicycle, and wounded over 30, authorities said.

Two women were killed and four children aged between five and 12 were among 18 wounded in an attack on a residential building in Zaporizhzhia, the regional governor Ivan Fedorov said.

Fedorov showed on his social media account pictures of bodies under covers and a smashed up building in the centre of the city, which is about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Russian lines.

In the northeast region of Sumy, governor Oleg Grigorov reported a Russian attack with mortars and drones on the Seredyna-Buda district. “As a result of the enemy attack, a 71-year-old local resident who was riding a bicycle was killed,” he said.

Another Russian attack targeted an apartment block, a bank and a store in Nikopol, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, the head of the local military administration Oleksandr Ganzha said. “One person has been killed and four wounded,” he announced.

Kyiv claims recapturing over 600 square km of territory this year

At least seven people were wounded in strikes at Sloviansk in the Donetsk region and three more in the Odesa region, local authorities said. Daily Russian attacks that claim civilian lives have intensified in recent months, and Ukraine has hit back with its own drone strikes further into Russian territory, saying these are mainly against military and energy facilities.

According to a UN estimate published in April, at least 15,850 civilians have been killed in Ukrainian zones since Russia’s invasion was launched in February 2022. Over 2,800 civilians have died in Russian-controlled zones, according to the UN toll, which added that more than 44,800 have been wounded in Ukrainian and Russia-occupied zones.

Territory recaptured

Ukrainian forces have recaptured more than 600 square km of territory so far this year, Ukraine’s top military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Monday, the latest sign of shifting momentum after years of slow but relentless Russian gains.

In May alone, Ukraine recaptured 100 square km more of territory than it lost, Syrskyi said on the Telegram messaging app. Syrskyi did not specify where the gains took place, saying only that in certain areas of the 1,200 km (800-mile) frontline, Ukrainian forces continued to maintain the initiative.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2026