Ukrainian drone strikes kill eight in Russia

At least eight people were killed in overnight Ukrainian drone strikes across several Russian regions, while Russian attacks in southeastern Ukraine killed one person and injured 21 others, according to regional officials on Sunday.

Russia's Defense Ministry said it intercepted 635 Ukrainian drones overnight. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry did not immediately comment on the reported attacks.

In Russia's Belgorod region, Acting Governor Alexander Shuvayev said a Ukrainian drone struck an area near a playground, killing a child and injuring two others. Russia's commissioner for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, described the attack as "another inhumane terrorist act."

A Ukrainian drone also struck a warehouse owned by Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, in the Samara region, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the front lines, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said. No casualties were reported, but the strike sparked a fire that emergency crews were working to extinguish.

Ukraine has increasingly targeted economic and energy infrastructure deep inside Russia in an effort to disrupt Moscow's ability to sustain its more than four-year war. Since July 18, Ukrainian forces have reportedly attacked about a dozen Wildberries facilities, aiming to disrupt the retailer's operations.

In the neighboring Saratov region, Governor Roman Busargin said a drone strike hit a residential building in the city of Engels, killing two people. Civilian infrastructure was also damaged in Engels and the regional capital, Saratov. Both cities have been repeatedly targeted because of their strategic facilities, including a major oil refinery in Saratov and a military airbase in Engels.

Ukraine's military said its forces struck the Saratov oil refinery, the Engels airbase, and an oil depot in Russia's western Kaluga region, causing fires at all three sites.

Elsewhere, Acting Governor Olga Abramova said three people were killed and two were injured in a drone attack on Russia's Udmurtia region. In Belgorod, local authorities reported that separate Ukrainian strikes killed three more people and injured five others.

In Russia's Bashkortostan region, Governor Radiy Khabirov said air defense systems repelled a large-scale drone attack targeting industrial facilities. One drone was shot down over an industrial area in the regional capital of Ufa, where firefighters responded to a resulting blaze.

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces struck infrastructure and two vessels carrying military cargo in Ukraine's southern port of Mykolaiv, along with another vessel transporting military supplies in the Black Sea.

In Ukraine, regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said Russian glide bombs struck the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing one person and injuring 21 others. The attacks added to the growing toll from continued cross-border strikes as both sides intensified long-range drone and missile operations. -Reporting by Felix Light; Additional reporting by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Joe Bavier, Kevin Liffey, Alison Williams, Will Dunham and Ron Popeski/Reuters