Ukraine stepped up its counter-attacks against Russian forces in the south while Moscow bombed Kyiv's outskirts for the first time in weeks as Europe's biggest conflict since World War Two dragged on with no end in sight.
Fifteen people were injured when missiles hit military installations in Vyshhorod district on the edge of the Ukrainian capital on Thursday, Kyiv regional Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram.
Air raid sirens blared as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed parliament alongside visiting Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, as Ukraine marked its Day of Ukrainian Statehood with a public holiday for the first time on Thursday.
"It doesn’t matter with what Russia threatens us; whether it’s air-raid sirens or something else, what is important is that we make other countries fall in love with our Ukrainian firmness," Zelenskiy said.
The attack shattered the sense of normalcy that has returned to life in Kyiv since Russian forces abandoned attempts to capture the city in the first weeks of the war, in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance.
More than 10 Russian missiles also hit the Chernihiv region northeast of Kyiv, regional Governor Vyacheslav Chausov told Ukrainian TV. Like Kyiv, Chernihiv had not been targeted for weeks.
"This was Russia offering greetings on Ukraine’s Day of State Sovereignty," he said, adding there were concerns about a "second phase of ground operations by the enemy".
The North district command of the Ukrainian armed forces said more than 20 missiles had been fired at Chernihiv region bordering Russia from a base in Belarus - Russia's ally.
In the south, Ukraine said its planes struck five Russian strongholds around the city of Kherson and another nearby city, where it is focusing its biggest counter-offensive since Russia's invasion began on Feb. 24.
The Kherson region, which borders Russian-annexed Crimea, fell to Russian forces soon after they began what Moscow calls "a special military operation". Ukraine describes Russia's actions as an imperial-style war of conquest.
As the fighting rages, international efforts continued to try to reopen Ukrainian ports and allow exports of grain and other commodities.
Allowing safe passage for grain shipments from Ukrain should ease shortages that have left tens of millions of people around the world facing soaring food prices and hunger.
Russia and Ukraine struck a deal last week to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports, but U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said "crucial" details for the safe passage of vessels were still being worked out.
Griffiths was hopeful the first shipment of grain from a Ukrainian Black Sea port could take place as early as Friday.
-Reuters