Russian President VladimirPutinonSunday (Dec 22) vowed to bring more "destruction" toUkrainein retaliation for adroneattackonthe central Russian city ofKazana day earlier.

Russia accusedUkraineof a "massive"droneattackthat hit a luxury apartment block in the city, some 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the frontier.

VideosonRussian social media networks showed drones hitting a high-rise glass building and setting off fireballs, though there were no reported casualties as a result of the strike.

"Whoever, and however much they try to destroy, they will face many times moredestructionthemselves and will regret what they are trying to do in our country,"Putinsaid during a televised government meetingonSunday.

Putinwas addressing the local leader of Tatarstan, the region whereKazanis located, in a road-opening ceremony via video link.

The strikeonKazanwas the latest in a series of escalating aerial attacks in the nearly three-year conflict.

Ukrainehas not commentedonthe strike.

Putinhas previously threatened to target the centre of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacksonRussian territory.

And the defence ministry has called Russian strikesonUkrainian energy facilities over recent weeks retaliatory hits for Kyiv using Western-supplied missiles to hit Russian air bases and arms factories.

ADVANCES

The latest threat comes as Russia claimed fresh advancesonthe battlefield in eastUkraine.

The defence ministry saidonTelegram that its troops had "liberated" the villages of Lozova in the northeastern Kharkiv region and Krasnoye - called Sontsivka inUkraine.

The latter is close to the resource hub of Kurakhove, which Russia has almost encircled and would be a key prize in Moscow's attempt to capture the entire Donetsk region.

Russia has accelerated its advance across easternUkrainein recent months, looking to secure as much territory as possible beforeUS President-elect Donald Trump comes to powerin January.

The Republican has promised to bring aswift end to the nearly three-year-long conflict, without proposing any concrete terms for a ceasefire or peace deal.

Moscow's army claims to have seized more than 190 Ukrainian settlements this year, with Kyiv struggling to hold the line in the face of manpower and ammunition shortages.

KyivonSunday also accused Russian forces of killing captured Ukrainian soldiers - an alleged war crimes violation.

A video posted byUkraine's 110th separate mechanised brigade showed "the shooting of soldiers who surrendered," Kyiv's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said in a postonTelegram.

He said the video - aerial footage from adroneof an apparent confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian soldiers - showed Russians shooting the Ukrainians at point-blank rangeafterthey had already surrendered.

AFP could not verify the footage.

It is the latest in a string of similar allegations lodged byUkrainethroughout the nearly three-year conflict. (AFP)