At least five people have been killed and dozens more injured after Russian drones struck the central Ukrainian city of Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday.

The death toll initially stood at four, with more than 60 people reported injured, including three children — boys aged 13, 14 and 15. A later update from Dnipropetrovsk regional authorities raised the number of wounded to 67 and said eight children were among those receiving medical treatment.

The attack damaged or destroyed shops, commercial pavilions and vehicles in the city centre, according to Ukrainian officials. Emergency crews were dispatched to the affected areas, while two rescue workers were also injured while responding to the aftermath of the strike.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said people were killed while they were near shopping centres in Pavlohrad. He expressed condolences to the victims' families and said authorities were providing assistance to those affected.

Pavlohrad, an important industrial and railway hub in southeastern Ukraine, lies roughly 80 kilometres from the front line and has repeatedly come under Russian attacks because of its strategic importance. The latest strike was part of a broader wave of Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

According to Reuters, Russian forces also targeted Kyiv, Dnipro, Sumy and Mykolaiv during the latest offensive. In Kyiv, a jet-powered drone struck a petrol station, injuring four people, while two people were killed in a Russian strike on a sunflower-oil facility in Dnipro.

The latest attacks come amid an intensification of long-range strikes by both Russia and Ukraine, with military and economic infrastructure increasingly becoming targets far from the front lines. Ukraine has continued to call for stronger air-defence support from its international partners as it seeks to protect its cities and critical infrastructure ahead of the winter season.

The escalation also comes as diplomatic efforts to end the war remain unresolved, with the conflict having entered its fifth year since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. (ILKHA)