At least nine people were killed in cross-border strikes between Russia and Ukraine over the weekend as both sides expanded their targeting of civilian and economic infrastructure, according to officials in both countries. Ukrainian attacks on Russia have killed at least nine people, while Russian attacks on Ukraine have killed at least five, according to officials in both countries.

Expanding Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory

Ukrainian forces have been striking deeper inside Russia as they expand their focus to economic and energy targets, aiming to undermine Moscow’s ability to sustain its war in Ukraine. Ukraine’s military said it had attacked the Saratov oil refinery and the Engels airbase, sparking fires at both facilities; it also claimed to have struck an oil depot in the western Kaluga region.

Acting Governor Olga Abramova condemned one of the strikes, stating, “This act is monstrous in its senselessness — these people were definitely not a military target.” In the Saratov region, civilian infrastructure was hit in the cities of Saratov and Engels. Two people were killed when a residential building in Engels was struck, according to Governor Roman Busargin.

Ukrainian drones also attacked a Wildberries warehouse in the Samara region, around 800 kilometers (500 miles) from Ukraine’s most advanced military positions, according to Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev. He said there were no casualties and that a fire resulting from the attack was being put out. Ukrainian forces have attacked about a dozen Wildberries sites since July 18 in a bid to disrupt the operations of the company, a linchpin of the consumer economy often described as Russia’s answer to Amazon.

Deadly Russian strikes in Ukraine

In Ukraine, at least five people were killed on Sunday. Russian strikes killed two people in the eastern region of Dnipropetrovsk, and at least one person each in the southern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, according to regional authorities. A separate Russian strike destroyed a postal terminal in the northern Kharkiv region, killing a postal worker, the mail operator Nova Poshta said.

Civilian casualties in Ukraine have soared this year, as Russia has ramped up its use of hard-to-intercept long-range missiles, according to UN data. Kiev has meanwhile launched waves of retaliatory strikes on Russia, including on energy facilities and retail warehouses, in an effort to pressure Moscow into negotiations on ending its offensive.

Escalation in border regions

In the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, four people were killed, including a 13-year-old girl near a playground, the region’s acting Governor Alexander Shuvaev said. A separate drone attack on Russia’s Saratov region bordering Kazakhstan killed two people, while three were killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on a car in Russia’s Udmurtia region, more than 1,000 kilometers from the front line, according to the region’s acting governor, Olga Abramova.

Both Saratov city, which hosts a major oil refinery, and Engels, home of a strategic bomber airbase — have come under repeated Ukrainian attacks in recent years. The escalation in long-range strikes has raised concerns about the growing risk to civilians and the potential for further destabilization in the region.