Russian air strikes hit Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine

KIEV

Russian air strikes hit several buildings in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih early Tuesday, leaving "dead and wounded", local authorities said as drone and missile attacks were reported in Kyiv and other cities.

A five-storey building was among the civilian targets hit by "high precision monsters", Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the Kryvyi Rih's military administration, said on Telegram.

"The ambulance service is providing assistance, there are victims in extremely serious condition, there are probably people under the rubble," he said.

Serhiy Lysak, governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, which covers Kryvyi Rih, said there had been a "massive missile attack on Kryvyi Rih".

"There are dead and wounded," he said, adding details would be provided later.

The Ukrainian capital and the northeast city of Kharkiv also came under missile and drone attack.

"According to initial reports, the enemy used Kh-101/555 cruise missiles," Kyiv city military administration said.

"All enemy targets in the airspace around Kyiv were detected and successfully destroyed by the forces and means of air defence," it said, adding there was no immediate information on any casualties or damage.

In Kharkiv, civilian infrastructure was hit in a drone attack, said the city's mayor Ihor Terekhov.

"According to initial reports, a utility company in the Kyivskyi district, as well as a warehouse in Saltivskyi district got damaged. A fire broke out as a result of the explosion on the latter," he said.

Air alerts were also sounded in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast and the neighbouring Donetsk and Poltava regions.

The fresh wave of air attacks came after Ukraine claimed to have retaken several villages and made advances in its counter-offensive against Russian forces.

"The fighting is tough, but we are moving forward, this is very important," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday in his daily evening address.