Six people were killed in Ukrainian attacks in the Russian border region of Belgorod, local officials said on August 25, as Ukrainian authorities reported that several people -- including Western news agency staffers -- were among the dead and wounded in Russian strikes across the country.
Meanwhile, in his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his forces made further advances deeper into Russia's Kursk region and had taken control of two additional settlements.
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"I've just spoken with commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskiy, and there is an advance of our troops in the Kursk region -- from 1 to 3 kilometers. Two more settlements were taken under control," said Zelenskiy, who added that "active actions” were continuing.
In Russia, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that five civilians were killed and 12 others were wounded in Ukrainian shelling in the town of Rakitnoye. One person was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the village of Solovyovka, he added.
Gladkov said six of the wounded were in serious condition, including a 16-year-old girl who was in intensive care.
The claims cannot be independently verified.
Russian authorities declared a state of emergency in Belgorod earlier this month, and Moscow said it was sending more troops to defend the region following Ukraine's surprise cross-border incursion into neighboring Kursk on August 6.
Ukraine has since captured more than 90 settlements in the Kursk region, according to Kyiv, the biggest invasion of Russia since World War II.
In the Ukrainian city of Sumy -- some 30 kilometers from the Russian border -- authorities on August 25 reported that heavy Russian shelling killed at least four people and injured 13 others over the past 24 hours.
Authorities also said one person was killed and several others were wounded in Kharkiv and Donetsk regions in Russian missile and drone attacks.
Donetsk regional officials said the body of a British citizen was recovered from the rubble following an overnight strike at a hotel in Kramatorsk, a city of some 147,000 people in southeastern Ukraine.
Reuters later identified the person as Ryan Evans, 38, who was working as a safety adviser for Reuters. Evans, a former British soldier, had been with the news agency since 2022, advising staffers on safety issues at sites around the world.
Officials said four journalists -- including those with German, Latvian, and U.S. citizenship -- and two local citizens were among the injured, but the report could not immediately be confirmed.
Reuters earlier said several team members had been at the hotel but couldn't immediately confirm their whereabouts or status.
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British Citizen Killed As Russian Missile Hits Hotel
Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk regional government, wrote on Telegram that the hotel was destroyed and that "17 private houses, six high-rise buildings, three enterprises, an administrative building, and a coffeeshop were damaged."
Russian attacks hit residential buildings in Kharkiv's Balakliya, Chuhuiv, and Kupyansk districts, as well as the regional capital, Kharkiv city, wounding at least 17 people and damaging several houses, local authorities said.
Russia launched several missile and drone attacks overnight, targeting northern and eastern regions, but Ukraine’s air-defense systems destroyed most of the weapons before they reached their targets, Ukraine's air force said.
"Most of the missiles did not reach their targets," the air force said on Telegram, adding that Russia launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile, an Iskander-K cruise missile, and six guided air missiles. It did not specify how many missiles were destroyed.
The air-defense systems shot down eight of the nine drones launched by Russian forces overnight over the Mykolayiv region, the air force claimed.
On the diplomatic front, Zelenskiy on August 25 said talks with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and Switzerland were continuing regarding a potential second peace summit.
SEE ALSO: Modi's Balancing Act Continues With Ukraine VisitThe Ukrainian leader also said he had told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Kyiv that he would support India hosting the summit.
"This applies not only to India but to any state that would be positive about hosting a second summit,” Zelenskiy added.
Some 80 countries, but not Russia, met in Switzerland in mid-June to discuss the potential for a peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv.
Zelenskiy has insisted Ukraine's territorial integrity must be the foundation of any peace deal, while Russia has said conditions for ending the war include Kyiv renouncing its desire to join NATO and ceding Crimea and four other occupied regions of Ukraine.
The Foreign Ministry in Kyiv also said on August 25 that Ukrainian intelligence agencies had reported that Belarusian armed forces, under the guise of military exercises, have been concentrating a significant number of personnel, weapons, and equipment including tanks, artillery, rocket launchers, air-defense systems, and engineering equipment its border with Ukraine.