At least nine people were killed by fresh Russian attacks on two Ukrainian regions on August 28 as Kyiv's drones struck three Russian regions, setting an oil depot on fire in Russia's Rostov region.
Several of those killed were in Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk, where fighting has been going on for several months as Russian troops press their offensive toward the regional hub of Pokrovsk.
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"This morning, Russians killed four people and destroyed a house in Izmaylivka in the Kurakhove community," Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram.
Filashkin said that two more people were killed by Russian shelling in Chasiv Yar, in the region's Bakhmut district, which was the scene last year of a monthslong clash between Ukrainian forces and attacking mercenaries from the notorious Wagner Group.
A total of 16 houses and two high-rise buildings were also damaged in the shelling, Filashkin said.
In the Kharkiv region, Russian forces launched a guided aerial bomb on the center of Kupyansk, injuring 14 people, including three police officers, the Kharkiv regional prosecutor's office said.
The head of the regional military administration, Oleh Synyehubov, said hundreds of windows in residential and municipal buildings were damaged as a result of the shelling. Other administrative buildings, shops, and civil infrastructure were also damaged, Synyehubov said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the air strike on Kupyansk had resulted in several deaths but didn't say how many. He also again urged Western leaders to allow Ukraine to use the weapons their countries have provided for long-range strikes against Russian targets.
Zelenskiy in his evening video message said the situation in Pokrovsk and other areas in Donetsk region was "extremely difficult."
"The key Russian efforts and the largest forces are concentrated there, and the stability of each of our units, our ability to destroy the occupier, is very important now," Zelenskiy said.
In Ukraine's southern region of Zaporizhzhya, a Russian drone attack killed three people -- two women and a man -- the region's Governor Ivan Fedorov said.
"Two women aged 83 and 86 and a 61-year-old man died, three more women aged 19, 30, 56, and a 59-year-old man were wounded as a result of a Russian drone attack," Fedorov said.
Kryviy Rih, in the southern region Dnipropetrovsk region, was again targeted on August 28 by a Russian missile strike that wounded three people, regional Governor Serhiy Lysak reported, a day after another Russian Iskander missile hit a hotel in the city, killing four people.
Lysak said infrastructure and cars also sustained damage in the city.
Meanwhile, Russian officials and Telegram channels reported Ukrainian drone strikes on three regions of Russia, including a first attack on a remote Russian region.
Ukraine, whose civilian and energy infrastructure has been battered by relentless Russian strikes since the start of Moscow's unprovoked invasion in February 2022, has in turn resorted in recent months to targeting oil and fuel installations inside Russia that mainly work for the military.
The governor of the southern Russian region of Rostov, Vasily Golubev, confirmed reports on Russian Telegram channels of a fire at an oil depot in the Kamensky district.
A strong explosion occurred before the fire broke out at the depot located close to the village of Molodezhny, reports on Telegram said.
"In the Kamensky district, as a result of a drone attack, a fire broke out at a fuel depot. There are no casualties. Emergency response forces are involved in the extinguishing the blaze. There is no threat of fire spreading to residential buildings," Golubev wrote on Telegram.
Golubev said earlier that four drones had been shot down by Russian air defense systems above his region.
Baza, a Telegram channel with close ties to Russia's security services, said debris from two drones ignited a fire at three storage tanks in the Kamensky district.
Videos posted on Telegram purported to show what appeared to be large fuel tanks burning in the dark.
Ukraine has not commented on the information, which could not be independently confirmed immediately.
In another Rostov district, Proletarsk, fuel tanks were reportedly still on fire some 10 days after they were hit by Ukrainian drones.
In the southwestern Voronezh region, Governor Aleksandr Gusev reported a fire "near explosive objects," likely an ammunition depot.
He said there were no casualties among civilians, but the residents of two nearby villages had been temporarily evacuated by bus as a precaution before being returned to their homes.
Suspected Ukrainian drones also attacked the Kirov region, some 1,500 kilometers northeast of Ukraine's border. The drones targeted an oil storage facility in the regional city of Kotelnich.
Kirov Governor Aleksandr Sokolov reported that there were no casualties as a result of the attack and no fire ensued. According to him, "the situation is under control."
The government in Russia's Kursk region said on August 28 that it would introduce additional security measures in the Kurchatov district and at the Kursk nuclear plant from August 29.
Aleksei Smirnov, governor of the Kursk region, said entry to the town of Kurchatov, where the plant is located, would be temporarily restricted.
Ukrainian forces began an incursion into the Kursk region on August 6, and fighting has taken place within about 40 kilometers of the nuclear facility.
The Ukrainian military said it had shot down a Russian Su-25 plane in Kramatorsk, in the eastern region of Donetsk.
"In the direction of Kramatorsk, our military shot down a Russian Su-25 aircraft that was trying to fire at the positions of units of the Defense Forces. Antiaircraft forces employed "a well-aimed shot from a MANPADS system," to destroy the plane, the military said in a statement.
MANPADS (Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems) are lightweight and highly mobile antiaircraft weapons.
NATO members meeting in Brussels on August 28 reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen Ukraine's defenses.
"Ukraine continues to intercept Russian missiles on a daily basis, saving countless lives. But Ukraine's ability to maintain their defenses requires increased supply and more support," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement.
"In the wake of the latest Russian assault, Allies today reaffirmed they are stepping up their military aid to Ukraine," Stoltenberg said. "We must continue to provide Ukraine with the equipment and munitions it needs to defend itself against Russia’s invasion. This is vital for Ukraine’s ability to stay in the fight."