Russia and Ukraine exchange strikes as two killed at Moldova border

Two people have been killed after Russian drones struck a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Starokozache crossing, around 500km (310 miles) south of Kyiv, was closed after the overnight attack. Images from the scene showed several cars left completely scorched, with wreckage and debris strewn across the border post.

Meanwhile, four people, including a child, were killed in the southern Russian city of Novorossiysk in a Ukrainian drone attack, the regional governor said.

Both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up long-range strikes in recent months, despite renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Zelensky renewed calls for international support in the wake of the Starokozache crossing attack, saying “the aggression must be stopped here and now before it spreads any further”.

The border link between Ukraine and Moldova was shut after the attack killed two people and injured three others, Odesa regional governor Oleg 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 had 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.”