Cities across Ukraine have been hit by a wave of Russian missile strikes, one of the heaviest bombardments since the war began.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least three people – including a 14-year-old girl – were taken to hospital after the explosions in the capital Kyiv.
Explosions were also heard in Kharkiv, Odessa, Lviv and Zhytomyr.
Ukraine’s military said 69 missiles were fired, of which 54 were intercepted by air defenses.
Earlier, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said that more than 120 missiles were fired at civilian infrastructure.
The airstrikes lasted for about five hours and Maksim Marchenko, the regional leader of the southern Odesa province, spoke of a “major missile attack on Ukraine”.
Ukraine’s air force says Russia attacked the country “from different directions with air- and sea-based cruise missiles.” It added that a number of kamikaze drones have also been used.
Brigadier General Oleksii Khromov said in an operational update that the attacks targeted energy infrastructure across the country.
Two houses in Kyiv were damaged by missile debris, according to the city’s military administration. Mr Klitschko said 16 missiles were destroyed by air defenses over the city.
In the southern region of Mykolaiv, Governor Vitaly Kim wrote that five missiles were intercepted by air defenses, while Mayor Andriy Sudovy said several explosions were reported in the western city of Lviv.
In the Odesa region, Mr. Marchenko said the Ukrainian military shot down 21 missiles. He added that fragments of the missile hit a residential building but there was no casualty.
And in a village in the western region of Ivano-Frankivsk, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky said a missile hit a resident’s home but did not explode. JEE News could not independently confirm this report.
Mr Podoliak said the attacks were “evil” and accused Moscow of trying to “destroy critical infrastructure and kill civilians”.
