Air raid alert across Ukraine as multiple explosions reported

A nationwide air raid alert was sounded in Ukraine early on Thursday, with reports of explosions in several cities.

The Ukrainian air force said in a Telegram post at 05:19 local time (03:19 GMT) that the alert was in force "throughout the territory of Ukraine due to the threat of missile danger".

The mayor of Kharkiv, Igor Terekhov, said there was shelling of a civilian area in the city, while the mayor of Lutsk, Ihor Polishchuk, said multiple explosions had been heard.

Recent days have seen Russia carry out some 1,500 air strikes in Ukraine, hitting around half the country's regions, according to authorities.

Ukraine's air force issued further warnings of rockets heading towards numerous regions around the country, including Rivne, Vinnytsia, Kropyvnytskyi, Balta, and Mykolaiv.

Local media outlet Zerkalo Tyzhnya also reported that explosions had been heard in the key port city of Odesa, while regional governor Oleg Kiper urged residents to stay somewhere safe.

The country's energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, said in a post on Facebook that "energy infrastructure is once again targeted by the enemy's massive strike".

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