Russia says civilians killed in strike on Black Sea resort

Moscow has accued Kyiv of stepping up attacks on civilian targets in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put Ukraine's chief peace negotiator in charge of foreign intelligence.

At least seven people, including three children, were killed in a Ukrainian strike on a Black Sea resort village of Arkhipo-Osipovka, authorities in Russia's Krasnodar region said on Monday.  

Local governor Veniamin Kondratyev stated that falling drone debris injured at least 40 others, and accused Kyiv of attacking civilian targets far away from military installations.

Meanwhile, Sergey Aksyonov, the Moscow-installed governor of Crimea, said in a Telegram post that four people were killed in a Ukrainian strike on the Russia-annexed region.

Sergey Aksyonov, the Moscow-installed governor of Crimea, said in a Telegram post that four people were killed in a Ukrainian strike on the Russia-annexed region.

Russian military officials said they have intercepted a further 131 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Kyiv did not confirm the strikes, but analysts said it was in line with the size of a recent spate of Ukrainian counter-attacks to Russian aggression. 

At the same time, Ukraine said that an attack on a gas station in the Dnipropetrovsk had killed three people, in keeping with a recent pattern of Russian attacks on fuel depots.

Ukraine's negotiator to head foreign intelligence service

In the latest move in an ongoing shakeup in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's chief peace negotiator, to lead foreign intelligence.

Zelenskyy said Umerov would remain in charge of peace talks after being moved from his previous job as head of the Security Council advisory body. Zelenskiy tasked Umerov with continuing to seek a diplomatic end to the war with Russia.

Ihor Klymenko, the former Interior Minister, will take over as head of the Security Council.

Since the sudden cabinet reshuffle last month, which included replacing Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, Zelenskyy has been shuffling senior officials among top posts. He has also replaced the top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko

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