Deadly strikes on Kyiv and region

Russian air attacks killed 12 people and injured more than a dozen in Kyiv and the surrounding region early on Tuesday, authorities said, marking the sixth consecutive day of strikes on the Ukrainian capital.

Eight people were killed in Kyiv and another five wounded, three of them children, with fires breaking out in different locations around the capital, the emergency service said on the Telegram messaging app. Among the dead in the capital were six employees of the state rail group Ukrzaliznytsia, killed in Russian ballistic missile strikes on a railway depot and other railway facilities, according to the group's head, Oleksandr Pertsovskyi.

In Boryspil, just outside Kyiv, four people were killed and a further 13 injured in an attack that hit a residential building and other sites, Governor Tymur Tkachenko said on Telegram. One of the dead outside Kyiv was an Indian citizen, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Escalating attacks and new tactics

Russia, which began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has escalated its air attacks in recent months as its progress on the battlefield has slowed, authorities and officials said. Since last week, Moscow has sent swarms of drones to plague Kyiv and nearby areas day and night, with many of them newer, jet-powered models that are harder to intercept. The near round-the-clock attacks have upended daily routines for millions with hours-long air-raid alerts.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russian drones and ballistic missiles had targeted residential areas and railway infrastructure in the heavy overnight attacks. He called on Ukraine's allies to increase economic pressure on Russia and renew discussions about using Russia's frozen assets overseas to fund Ukraine's war effort.

"It is time to signal (to) the Kremlin that imitating diplomacy does not work anymore," Sybiha said in a post on X. He urged allies to provide Ukraine with more air defences, as it runs critically low on -made Patriot interceptors capable of stopping Russia's ballistic missiles. Ukraine's air force said it had shot down five ballistic missiles during the attack.

Wider conflict and regional fallout

Russia has been increasing attacks on Ukraine's borders, as well as energy and logistics facilities. On Tuesday, a fresh strike stopped border crossings into Romania, a NATO and EU member, at Orlivka on the Danube river. The Russian strikes also targeted a border crossing with Romania in the Black Sea region of Odesa, leaving thousands of families without electricity, Zelensky said.

In Russia, a drone attack caused a fire in the port area of Ust-Luga, a major export outlet in the northwest. In Russia's Samara region, an air attack damaged civilian facilities, the local governor said on Telegram. A civilian was also killed in an attack in Russia's Belgorod region, according to the acting governor.

The overnight barrage included a "significant number" of jet-powered drones and ballistic missiles, Zelensky said, and more explosions were heard in Kyiv on Tuesday morning. A daytime drone attack caused a fire at a high-rise apartment building and injured three people, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

Russia's defence ministry said Moscow hit military and energy facilities in Kyiv and Odesa overnight. Ukraine has also increased its attacks on Russia, targeting oil refineries and logistics infrastructure.

Diplomatic efforts and statements

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X that Russia's latest attack on Kyiv demonstrated President Vladimir Putin is not interested in peace, and he called for new international sanctions targeting Russia's ability to produce ballistic missiles. He also urged partners to use frozen Russian assets.

President Zelensky said he held a "detailed and constructive" call with S. President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, with both sides working to finalise dates for their visit to Ukraine. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Putin that the war needed to end "for humanity's sake," and Putin said Moscow was "moving forward along this path."

Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians, and damage reports could not be independently verified. As the conflict continues, peace talks remain stalled, with -led negotiations having stalled this year.