Russia and Ukraine exchange strikes as two killed at Moldova border

Two people died when Russian drones hit a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.The Starokozache crossing was shut after the overnight attack. Images from the scene show several burnt-out cars amid the debris.In Kyiv, a woman was killed and 14 people, including two children, were injured after a Russian drone hit a nine-storey building, officials said, while in Sumy three people died after a drone struck a shopping centre.In Russia, officials said four people, including a child, were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, while a drone hit an industrial facility in the Arctic city of Novy Urengoy.In Sumy, two people were also injured in the attack on the shopping mall on Wednesday evening, regional head Oleg Grigorov said. He said efforts to deal with the aftermath were ongoing.Russia and Ukraine recently stepped up long-range strikes, despite renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war.Zelensky renewed calls for international support in the wake of the attack at the Starokozache road crossing, saying “the aggression must be stopped here and now before it spreads any further”.The crossing, about 500km south of Kyiv, was shut after the attack killed two people and injured three others, Odesa regional head Oleh Kiper said.A Moldovan driver was also injured, according to the country’s foreign ministry.Moldova has increasingly found itself caught up in the conflict, with Prime Minister Vasile Tofan confirming that 17 drones struck Moldovan territory in August alone – more than during the whole of last year.”Those who ignore or downplay these threats – and refuse to name the aggressor – are denying reality,” he wrote on social media.”Russia started this war. Russia alone bears responsibility.”Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.