The attacks came hours after brief direct talks failed to make any progress on steps to end nearly three-and-a-half years of war.

Russia and Ukraine discussed further prisoner swaps on Wednesday at a brief session of peace talks in Istanbul, but the sides remained far apart on ceasefire terms and a possible meeting of their leaders.

Two people were killed in a Russian strike on eastern Ukraine on Thursday and at least 33 were wounded when Russian glide bombs struck a residential neighbourhood in the northeastern city of Kharkiv,

President Volodymyr Zelensky reversed course, but it is unclear if that will quell the anger that erupted when he stripped anticorruption agencies of independence.

Fighting corruption has been a central issue for Ukrainians since pro-Western protests a decade ago, and new curbs on the watchdog agencies have alarmed many.

KYIV - Ukrainian officials scrambled to respond Wednesday to the eruption of mass protests as well as alarm among its European allies after President Volodymyr Zelensky signed legislation that many fear will neutralize the country’s main anti-corruption bodies and roll back reforms introduced after a pro-Western revolution more than 10 years ago.