At least six people have been injured following a Russian strike on a nine-storey apartment building in Kharkiv.

According to Kharkiv’s Mayor Ihor Terekhov, emergency crews scrambled to rescue residents in the early hours of Monday. A 16-year-old girl was among the casualties as three apartments on the upper floors were destroyed.

In the port city of Kherson, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on the Telegram messaging app that an elderly man was killed after a drone dropped explosives on him, and another man was killed by artillery fire.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defence reported that its air defence units shot down 21 Ukrainian drones overnight, which targeted several regions, including Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, and Kursk.

In the Voronezh region, a drone attack led to a fire at an industrial facility, injuring one person, as stated by Governor Alexander Gusev. Emergency services were deployed to deal with the fire.

Additionally, two explosions were reported near an ethanol plant in the village of Krasnoye, according to the Baza news channel, which is close to Russia’s security services. Euronews could not independently confirm these claims.

War amid worldwide votes

Following Bulgaria’s Sunday parliamentary election, the centre-right GERB party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov emerged as the winner, with exit poll results showing it in the first place.

The main pro-Russia party in Bulgaria, Vazrazhdane, which pollsters had predicted would become the second-largest group in the legislature, received a weaker result. The far-right, ultra-nationalist party has made demands that Sofia lift sanctions against Russia, stop helping Ukraine, and hold a referendum on its NATO membership.

So far, the group has been isolated in parliament, with no new signs of future partnerships. However, if the mainstream parties in the legislature fail to resolve the deadlock, the appeal of Vazrazhdane and other similar groups could increase, potentially shifting Bulgaria’s pro-Western stance.

Lithuania’s newly elected Social Democratic Party announced Monday that its government aims to spend at least 3.5% of its gross domestic product on defence.

The vote in Lithuania, which borders Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave to the west and Belarus to the east, comes amid increased fears about Moscow’s intentions, especially regarding the strategically important Baltic region.

Meanwhile, in the US, Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance stated that Moscow is an adversary of the US but suggested that approaching the Kremlin as an enemy is counterproductive.

Vance made these comments during appearances on Sunday talk shows, airing nine days before election day. He also stated that the Trump administration is committed to NATO, the transatlantic military alliance seen as a bulwark against further Russian aggression in Europe.

“We’re not in a war with him, and I don’t want to be in a war with Vladimir Putin’s Russia,” Vance said when pressed during an interview with NBC’s about whether Moscow is an enemy.