Russian forces launched a fresh wave of missile, drone and glide-bomb attacks on Ukrainian cities overnight, killing at least nine civilians, officials said Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meanwhile warned that Russia is receiving additional military support from North Korea as Moscow continues its more than four-year invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said Russian forces used North Korean-supplied ballistic missiles in an overnight attack on Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine. Local officials said six people were killed and 19 others injured in the attack.
Three more people, including a 15-year-old boy, were killed in Russian drone and artillery strikes in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, according to local authorities.
Zelenskyy said late Monday that Russia had received more ballistic missiles from North Korea and was preparing to deploy additional North Korean troops.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a strategic partnership agreement more than two years ago, pledging mutual assistance if either country comes under attack.
North Korea has sent thousands of troops and large quantities of weapons to support Russia's war in Ukraine. Analysts say its cooperation with Moscow is also helping strengthen North Korea's military capabilities.
Zelenskyy warned that the combat experience gained by North Korean forces in the war could later pose a threat to other countries in the region.
Ukraine has also accused Russia of increasing ballistic missile production to take advantage of Kyiv's shortage of Patriot air defence interceptors, which are among the few systems capable of intercepting such missiles.
Kyiv also says Moscow is preparing to increase recruitment for a new offensive along the roughly 1,250-kilometre front line stretching across eastern and southern Ukraine.
"Every step Russia takes — increasing ballistic missile production, bringing in North Korean equipment, preparing for mobilization — all of this shows that Moscow is preparing not for peace, but for escalation," Zelenskyy said in a social media post.
US-led diplomatic efforts to end the war have made little progress, while Washington has become increasingly frustrated with the lack of movement toward a settlement and has shifted attention to the war in Iran.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said the Kremlin is unlikely to engage in serious negotiations or make significant concessions as long as Russian President Vladimir Putin believes his military can still achieve his objectives.
The think tank also warned that Ukraine's shortage of Patriot interceptors could allow Russia to inflict serious damage over the coming winter, potentially prolonging the war and delaying meaningful negotiations.
Children's hospital hit in Kyiv
Russian forces also attacked parts of Kyiv overnight, Ukrainian officials said.
One strike hit the grounds of a children's hospital, leaving two craters and breaking windows, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service. Children and medical staff were sheltering in bomb shelters at the time, and no one was injured.
Another Russian strike caused a fire at a warehouse in the capital that spread over about 1,200 square metres, emergency officials said.
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had targeted "military industrial facilities and transport and logistics centers" in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia using ground-based precision weapons.
It said drone storage facilities in Kyiv and a metallurgical plant in Zaporizhzhia were among the targets.
Ukraine's air force said Russia attacked Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv with Zircon anti-ship missiles and Iskander ballistic missiles, while launching 120 long-range drones of various types across Ukraine.
Wildberries facilities attacked
The Russian Defence Ministry said its air defences intercepted nearly 400 Ukrainian drones overnight over 14 Russian regions and occupied Crimea.
Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, said its logistics facilities in the Voronezh region near the Ukrainian border were attacked and caught fire. The company said the fire had been extinguished and most of the goods stored there were not damaged.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Wildberries warehouses as part of its campaign against Russian economic infrastructure. Kyiv has also carried out strikes on Russian oil facilities, saying the attacks are aimed at pressuring Putin to negotiate an end to the war.
Russian independent outlet Astra reported that an oil refinery in Orsk, about 1,300 kilometres from Ukraine's border, was hit and published images showing smoke rising from the facility.
There was no official confirmation of an attack on the Orsk refinery, which has been targeted in previous attacks.