Deadly aerial assaults escalated on Tuesday as Russia and Ukraine exchanged long-range attacks, resulting in civilian casualties on both sides, including children.
Local officials reported that four people were killed in Ukraine, while a separate Ukrainian drone strike inside Russia left three dead.
The conflict has seen a surge in missile and drone operations in recent months, with both nations increasingly focusing on energy-related targets. Moscow has sought to weaken Ukrainian morale, while Kyiv has aimed to disrupt Russia’s energy income.
In Russia, authorities confirmed that a Ukrainian drone hit a residential building in the Vladimir region, located more than 500 kilometers east of Moscow and far from active battle zones in eastern Ukraine. The strike killed a young boy along with two adults.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, a Russian drone attack targeted a passenger bus in the frontline city of Nikopol. At least three people lost their lives and 12 others sustained injuries in the strike. Regional military administration head Oleksandr Ganzha described the scene, saying the bus was “pulling up to the stop, there were people both on board and at the stop,”.
“This was not a random strike. It was a deliberate act of terror against civilians,” he added.
In another overnight attack, a Russian drone struck a residential area in the Dnipropetrovsk region, igniting a fire that claimed the life of an 11-year-old boy and left five others injured.
Amid the escalating violence, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed on April 6 that Kyiv had proposed a mutual halt to attacks on energy infrastructure. The proposal was reportedly delivered to Moscow through US intermediaries.
“If Russia is ready to stop striking our energy sector, we will be ready to respond in kind,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
“And this proposal of ours, conveyed through the Americans, has been communicated to the Russian side,” he added.
