Russian attacks on eastern Ukrainian cities kill four

A building burns after a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
Dozens of drones have struck the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least one person. -Zaporizhzhia Regional Administration via AP

Russian attacks ‌on cities in Ukraine's east and southeast have killed four people ‌and set ablaze a residence and a shopping centre.

Prosecutors in the Donetsk region, the focal point of Ukraine's front line, said three people died in two bomb attacks in the city of ‌Sloviansk on Tuesday and five ⁠were injured.

Sloviansk is part of the ​country's "fortress belt", heavily defended by the military and seen as key to containing a slow-moving Russian offensive in Donetsk.

In the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, national police said a wave ⁠of dozens of ‌drones ​killed one person in his car and injured seven others.

Pictures ​posted online ‌showed flames inside a building and on a rooftop and ​at least one facade reduced to rubble.

Regional governor Ivan Fedorov said there had been five strikes ​on ​the city. 

He ​said fire broke out in ‌a residence and a shopping centre, and an educational institution sustained damage.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. 

Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians in the war that ​started with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.