Russian strikes kill five in Ukraine industrial hub of Pavlohrad

(Corrects number of killed in Pavlohrad, adds toll ‌in wider region in ​paragraph 2)

By Pavel ​Polityuk and Anna Pruchnicka

KYIV, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Russian drones pounded central part of the industrial city of Pavlohrad in southeastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing five, as well as striking a petrol station in the capital Kyiv and an international agribusiness facility ‌in Dnipro as Moscow intensifies attacks on logistics and economic targets.

Governor Oleksandr Hanzha, writing on Telegram, said Russia ⁠deployed drones, artillery and aerial bombs in hitting five districts of in the Dnipropetrovsk region, killing two more people. A total of 76 people were injured, including several children, ‌he said.

Photos posted online showed shattered shops and ‌burned-out vehicles in the city, which has acted as a critical supply route for the Ukrainian military connecting central Ukraine to eastern front lines.

The attack on the petrol station in Kyiv and on an agribusiness facility run by Bunge in the southeastern city of Dnipro ​added to Russia's intensified air campaign in recent weeks.

Moscow has launched ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones at warehouses, food suppliers and retail chains. Kyiv has struggled to repel the attacks amid a shortage of air defence systems.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said Russian attacks on ⁠businesses and civilian infrastructure were "rapidly growing" and urged the government to "react and act in advance".

Russia denies deliberately targeting civilian sites.

The strike on the Ukrnafta petrol station appeared to be the first jet-powered ​drone attack on such a facility in Kyiv. It followed around 300 attacks on petrol stations in or near Ukraine's frontline regions in recent months.

Four people were injured, said Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

"There is no military ​objective in such strikes. This is terror and intimidation of the civilian population," said ‌Ukrnafta CEO Bohdan Kukura on Facebook.

'NO COINCIDENCE'

In Dnipro, two people were killed in the attack on the Bunge sunflower oil facility, one of Ukraine's five largest food plants with a processing capacity of 1,600 tons of oilseeds ⁠per day.

It was the second attack on a U.S.-owned business in several weeks, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

"This is no coincidence, but part of Moscow's systematic terror campaign against American businesses and economic interests," he wrote on X.

Five people were wounded, a local official said.

In Kyiv region, outside the capital, regional governor ⁠Tymur Tkachenko said one person had been killed in a series of attacks. One fire was still burning north of Kyiv, he said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on a visit ​to Canada, said Russian forces also struck localities in eastern Donetsk region and in Kharkiv region in the northeast.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Russian drones hit office buildings and storage areas in the capital.

In the northeastern city of Sumy, city officials said a jet-powered drone tore into a shopping centre — a day after ‌two people were killed and 20 wounded in a similar attack there.

Russian officials said Ukrainian drone attacks on the border region of Belgorod killed two people and injured seven.

Moscow and Kyiv have traded escalating strikes in ‌recent weeks on logistics and other economic targets aimed at damaging each other's war effort.

Ukraine has attacked Russia's largest online retailers and oil refineries, often deep inside ⁠the country, as well as energy and fuel logistics ‌in regions of its own territory occupied ​by Russian forces.

Russia, meanwhile, has stepped up strikes on Ukraine's ports, killing four and injuring 19 in the southern city of Mykolaiv overnight, regional officials said.

(Writing by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Ros Russell, Gareth Jones, Ron Popeski, Cynthia Osterman ‌and David Gregorio)

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