Ukrainian authorities said Russia hit civilian targets in the towns of Slovyansk and Samar on July 13, but the strikes came amid a relative lull in reported attacks ahead of what US President Donald Trump said would be "major statement" on the conflict.
The military administration in Slovyansk, in eastern Ukraine, said there were casualties including a 13-year-old boy as Russian shelling hit residential areas.
They did not immediately provide further details.
In Samar, 170 kilometers to the west, authorities said a school building and residences were hit. There was no immediate official confirmation of media reports of casualties.
Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that its inspectors heard "hundreds of rounds of small arms fire" near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant overnight.
The attacks came as Ukraine passed the first night in some two months without a mass drone attack by Russia, although the skies were not entirely calm.
A Ukrainian Air Force statement on July 13 said Russia had launched 60 Shahed attack UAVs and decoy drones of various types over the previous 24 hours.
The scale of the attack was much smaller than the kind of bombardment Ukraine has endured in recent weeks.
Russia has massively stepped up its missile and drone attacks this year, with numbers increasing every month since December, according to a monitoring group.
In a statement on July 13, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had launched more than 1,800 drones, over 1,200 guided bombs, and 83 missiles of various types over the past week.
The reduced intensity of Russian attacks came amid anticipation of Trump's statement.
Trump has grown increasingly critical of Russia in recent weeks, as it has rebuffed his efforts to secure a cease-fire.
“We get a lot of bullshit from Putin. It's very nice most of the time but meaningless,” Trump, who has spoken to Putin by phone six times since his inauguration on January 20, said on July 8.
He has also announced a resumption of weapon supplies to Ukraine, telling US broadcaster NBC that the United States is "sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons...and then NATO is going to be giving those weapons" to Ukraine.
His talk of a major statement has led to speculation that he might announce support for new sanctions against Russia, which he has so far refrained from imposing, or pledge more military aid to Ukraine.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in the July 12-13 overnight strikes, but two people were reported injured by Russian shelling in Kherson, southern Ukraine.
The Russian attacks have regularly hit civilian targets including residential areas, hospitals, schools, and energy infrastructure.
"The Russians are intensifying terror against cities and communities in order to increasingly intimidate our people," Zelenskyy said in his July 13 statement.
Russia has also been pressing forward on the front lines -- albeit with massive casualties among its troops amid fierce Ukrainian resistance.
Ukraine has hit back with smaller scale drone strikes aimed at what it calls military and military-industrial targets, including air bases, drone manufacturing plants, and the oil industry.
The Russian Defense Ministry on July 13 said that its air defenses had intercepted 36 Ukrainian drones in various Russian regions.
The governor of the Belgorod Region said that two civilians had been hospitalized after a private residence was hit.
RFE/RL cannot verify battlefield claims.
Lavrov In Beijing
The latest exchanges come as Russia seeks to shore up diplomatic support.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
"The parties also discussed relations with the United States and prospects for resolving the Ukrainian crisis," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Lavrov's trip followed a visit to North Korea.
North Korean state media reported that the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, had pledged “unconditional support” for Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The North Korean leader also expressed a "firm belief that the Russian army and people would surely win victory,” media reported.
Also on July 13, South Korean media cited intelligence sources as saying that North Korea had now provided Russia with more than 12 million artillery shells since October last year.
North Korean soldiers helped Russian forces fight against Ukrainian troops after Kyiv mounted a surprise invasion of Russia's Kursk region last August. US officials said more than 11,000 North Korean soldiers participated in the fight and suffered massive losses.
North Korea may have sent more soldiers to fight on the Russian side earlier this year, and has reportedly agreed to dispatch 6,000 military engineers and builders for reconstruction in the Kursk region. It has also sent short-range missiles, self-propelled howitzers and rocket launchers, according to the South Korean military.
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