Capitals, July 27 (SANA)Two people were killed and 17 others injured in Ukrainian drone attacks on southernRussia, while Ukrainian authorities said Russian strikes killed one person and wounded seven others, according to officials on Monday.

According to Reuters, local authorities in Russia said Ukrainian aerial attacks targeted the southern cities of Rostov-on-Don andBelgorod.

RostovRegion Governor Yury Slyusar said a couple was killed and five other people were injured, two of them critically, in Rostov-on-Don, a major export hub near the Sea of Azov. He added on Telegram that falling drone debris sparked fires at several locations, including warehouses, and shattered windows in a residential building.

Authorities in Belgorod, near the Ukrainian border, said a separate drone attack injured 12 people, including two children, and caused a fire in a residential building.

InUkraine, Zaporizhzhia Region Governor Ivan Fedorov said Russian attacks involving guided bombs and drones killed one person and injured two others in the regional capital.

Meanwhile, Sumy Region Governor Oleh Hryhorov said a Russian guided bomb attack wounded five people in northern Ukraine.

Separately,Russia’s Ministry of Defensesaid its forces struck two ships carrying military equipment at the port of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine.

The battlefield reports couldn’t yet be verified. Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly denied targeting civilians during the conflict, which began with Russia’s full-scale military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.

The two sides have intensified military activity in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and surrounding areas in recent weeks, with both targeting dozens of vessels, including oil tankers and cargo ships.