MOSCOW, July 20, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A Ukrainian drone strike on a bus in Russia's Belgorod region killed five people including a child Monday, authorities said, while Kyiv said Russian strikes on several Ukrainian cities left at least eight dead.

Russia has escalated its bombardment of Ukraine, killing dozens of people in missile strikes since the beginning of the month, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Kyiv has also intensified its retaliatory strikes.

Russian border regions have been hit by cross-border strikes since the start of Moscow's offensive in February 2022.

In the Russian town of Shebekino -- less than five kilometres (three miles) from the Ukrainian border -- a Ukrainian drone "deliberately and cynically struck a passenger coach", the acting governor of Russia's Belgorod region, Alexander Shuvaev, said on social media.

"Five innocent civilians, including a minor, were killed as a result of this inhuman and despicable attack... In addition, 23 civilians were injured, including a teenager," he added.

In Ukraine, Russian strikes on the eastern cities of Pavlograd and Kramatorsk killed two people each, while Russian bombardment of the southern Ukrainian regions of Odesa and Zaporizhzhia killed four others, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Earlier Monday, Ukraine launched scores of drones at the Moscow region, sparking fires and wounding at least 10 people, Russia said.

Both Russia and Ukraine -- which deny targeting civilians -- have launched repeated strikes on each other in recent months, as US-led talks on ending the nearly four-and-a-half year conflict remain stalled.

More civilians were killed in Ukraine in June than in any single month since April 2022, according to the United Nations.