Authorities said the boy died following a strike on a village in Kherson amid Russia's increased bombardment of Ukrainian cities.

Kyiv was the main target of an hourslong assault that killed at least two people, officials said. The barrage came hours before the top American and Russian diplomats met.

One of those key frontline areas is Pokrovsk, a strategic hub in eastern Ukraine, which Moscow has been trying to capture for more than two years. According to the head of Ukraine's army Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, Russia has concentrated some 111,000 troops in that area.

Italy said on Thursday that firms that have helped Russia fund its war on Ukraine by doing business with the country should be excluded from profiting from Ukraine's reconstruction. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said earlier that participants at a Rome conference on the economic recovery of Ukraine had pledged more than 10 billion euros ($11.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the United States and Russia have exchanged new ideas for Ukraine peace talks after he met with his Russian counterpart in Malaysia.

The latest assault included more drones in a single night than Russia used in the entire month of July last year.