Ukraine has said that Russian shelling overnight and in the morning killed two elderly people in the eastern town of Krasnogorivka, and urged civilians still living there to evacuate.
Krasnogorivka lies directly on the frontline in the eastern Donetsk region, more than half of which is under the control of Russian forces and is an active combat zone.
"The town was under enemy fire during the night and morning. A 70-year-old woman and a 73-year-old man were killed," Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin said on social media.
"Krasnogorivka has been on the frontline for 10 years and remains one of the most dangerous places in the country. Do not expose yourself to mortal danger. Evacuate," he said.
Ukrainian forces have reported "difficult" battles on the eastern front in recent months as they face ammunition shortages and Russia launches relentless aerial strikes.
Moscow is outgunning Kyiv six-fold on the front lines, causing losses of troops and positions, Ukraine's recently appointed commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky said yesterday.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said that it had imposed emergency blackouts on several regions after Russia fired dozens of missiles and drones at its power stations.
Moscow has stepped up its aerial bombardment of Ukraine in recent weeks, targeting energy infrastructure in response to Ukrainian assaults on Russia's border regions.
National grid operator Ukrenergo announced yesterday that its dispatch centre was "forced to apply emergency blackout schedules in the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kirovograd until the evening".
Restrictions were already in place in the major cities of Kharkiv and Kryvyi Rih following a Russian strike last week.
"Consumers in other regions are asked to use electricity sparingly and consciously," Ukrenergo said.
The attacks come at a difficult time for Ukraine, which is facing critical shortages of air defences to protect its skies and ammunition to defend the front lines.
Ukraine's foreign ministry said the air attacks were "becoming more frequent and massive, posing an increasing threat to Ukraine's energy security".
"Ukraine needs more air defence systems to secure critical infrastructure and protect the population," Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said in a renewed plea to Kyiv's Western allies.
The Russian defence ministry acknowledged it had used "long-range air, sea and land-based precision weapons" to target energy facilities.
Both sides accused each other of attacking civilian areas yesterday.
Russia moves 5,000 children from Belgorod after Ukrainian attacks
In Russia, 5,000 children have been evacuated from the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine following weeks of deadly bombardment by Kyiv, the region's governor said today.
Last week, regional authorities said 9,000 minors would be moved to other regions after a spate of cross-border shelling and drone strikes killed over a dozen civilians.
"Five thousand of our children are already outside the region. Yesterday, 1,300 children arrived in Saint Petersburg, Bryansk, and Makhachkala," governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Children who remain in the region and live in municipalities close to the border, including the region's capital Belgorod, will switch to remote learning next month, he added.
He said businesses that had been forced to close due to the attacks will be allowed to re-open as long as "staff are trained in first aid" and windows are taped up.
Belgorod has been repeatedly targeted by what Russian officials have called indiscriminate Ukrainian attacks since the conflict began more than two years ago.
Yesterday, a Ukrainian drone crashed into a multi-storey apartment building in Belgorod city, killing a man and wounding two others, including his wife, Mr Gladkov said.
