Kiev:
Russia launched a wave of rocket attacks on Ukrainian cities including the capital on Friday, authorities said as they issued a nationwide air raid alert.
The overnight attacks came days after Ukraine struck a Russian warship in the occupied Crimean port of Feodosia.
Explosions have been reported in Kiev, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a message on Telegram.
Rockets also hit at least five other Ukrainian cities, including Kharkiv in the northeast, Lviv in the west of the country and Odesa in the south, the cities' mayors and police said.
“Today, at five o'clock in the morning, the followers of the fascists hit the peaceful city with S-300 rockets. Ten explosions rang out in Kharkiv. Specialized services quickly arrived at the attack sites,” Kharkov region police said.
Night attacks were also reported in Sumy and Konotop.
In southern Odesa, a high-rise building caught fire after being hit by debris from a crashed drone, the city's mayor said.
“As a result of another enemy attack, one of the high-rise buildings was damaged. The fire was immediately extinguished,” Mayor Gennady Trukhanov said in a post on social media.
The attacks came after the Kremlin acknowledged on Tuesday that a Ukrainian attack had damaged a warship in the occupied Crimean port of Feodosia, in what Ukraine and its Western allies called a major setback for the Russian navy.
Ukraine has said its air force has destroyed the Novocherkassk landing ship, while President Volodymyr Zelensky joked on social media that the ship had now joined “the Russian Black Sea underwater fleet”.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed President Vladimir Putin “about the damage to our large landing ship” in “a very detailed report.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said the ship was damaged by guided air missiles.
Ukraine's military said its air force destroyed the Russian navy ship in a missile attack on Crimea's eastern port.
On Thursday, Zelensky thanked the United States for releasing the last remaining package of weapons available to Ukraine under the existing authorization, as there is uncertainty over further aid to his war-torn country.
Zelensky had warned that any change in policy by the US – Kiev's main backer – could have a strong impact on the course of the war.
“I thank President Joe Biden, Congress and the American people for the $250 million military aid package announced yesterday,” Zelensky said on social media.
“To defend freedom and security not only in Ukraine and Europe, but also in the United States, we must continue to respond to continued Russian aggression,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)