At least five killed in Russian air attacks on Ukraine

Russia’s Defence Ministry says 453 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight in various regions.At least five people have been killed and 11 others injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine, authorities said.A Russian drone attack on a bus in the front-line city of Kherson killed at least four people and wounded four others on Wednesday, Kherson regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Russian attacks kill 10 in Kharkiv as Ukrainian drones hit Moscowlist 2 of 3Top Russian economist ousted after warning of growing costs of Ukraine warlist 3 of 3Putin’s ‘illusion of victory:’ Russia ramps up missile attacks on Ukraineend of listThe attack took place at about 8:50am local time (05:50 GMT), and all the casualties were bus passengers.In a post on the Telegram app, Prokudin said the wounded had been taken to hospital.He posted blurred photos of a yellow bus with bloodied steps and shattered windows.Russian forces regularly strike Kherson, which was under Moscow’s control from March to November 2022 – the initial months of the war – with drones, in what Ukraine says is the deliberate targeting of civilians.Earlier this month, Ukraine accused Russia of chasing a man in a street market in Kherson with a remotely piloted FPV drone, calling it a “safari” targeting civilians.The city had a population of about 280,000 before the war began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.Russian forces, repelled from the city by a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the last quarter of 2022, are now positioned on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River, which flows past Kherson.There has been an uptick in civilian deaths in the conflict throughout this year, the United Nations has reported, with 437 civilians killed in Ukraine last month alone, the highest monthly toll since May 2022.Russian authorities reported 79 civilians killed in Ukrainian attacks in July, up from the previous month.