Two dead in Russian strikes on Ukraine cities: Authorities

Russian strikes killed two people and wounded at least 27 others overnight in Kharkiv and Sumy in northeastern Ukraine, authorities said Friday.

Kharkiv mayor Igor Terekhov said on Telegram that one person was killed and 26 injured in the city.

"According to preliminary information, the strikes on Kharkiv were carried out by ballistic missiles with cluster munitions. That is why the affected areas are very large," he said, adding that 15 apartment buildings were damaged.

Kharkiv regional governor Oleg Synegubov said the strikes hit a "densely populated area" of the city.

In Sumy, near the Russian border, a Russian attack using Iranian-made Shahed drones killed one person and injured one other, the regional military administration said on Telegram.

"The enemy struck a civilian infrastructure facility in the city," it said.

On Sunday, a Russian ballistic missile killed at least 35 people in Sumy and wounded more than 100 others.

World leaders condemned the attack, the deadliest in Ukraine so far this year and one of the worst since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

Aerial attacks have escalated despite calls by US President Donald Trump for a ceasefire to halt more than three years of fighting.

Top US and European officials met in Paris on Thursday to discuss the war in Ukraine, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio again pressing Washington's peace plan.