In the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, at least 17 people were killed in a missile attack on Tuesday. The death toll almost doubled when police confirmed 9 deaths in the afternoon.
"One more person has died in Dnipro – a total of 17 lives have been lost" announced Governor Sergij Lysak on social media. He added that 279 people were injured, several of them children.
Additionally, two people were killed in the nearby city of Samar.
A number of buildings, including kindergartens, schools, and a children's hospital, were hit.
A few hours earlier, it was announced that at least three people, including a child, were killed in Russian drone attacks in the Sumy region in the northeast. The nighttime attack is described as "massive" by local authorities.
"We have information about three dead. Among them is an eight-year-old boy", writes the region's military administration in a statement, adding that three people were also injured.
Bombardment is also reported from the Kherson region, where residential buildings and important infrastructure were hit and four people were killed, according to AP.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrij Sybiha criticizes the attacks, mainly on Dnipro, as a Russian "terror message" and "rejection of peace" ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague. He urges Kyiv's allies to increase pressure on Moscow.
On Wednesday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is expected to meet US President Donald Trump in connection with the NATO summit.
The full-scale Russian invasion war in Ukraine has been going on since February 2022.
