KYIV: Air raid sirens went off in Ukraine and explosions were heard in several cities, including the capital Kyiv, as Russia fired more than 100 rockets on Thursday morning, according to an aide to the Ukrainian president. More than 100 missiles were launched in multiple waves," wrote presidential adviser Oleksiy Arrestovich on Facebook, while the head of Ukraine's Mykolaiv region also reported that Russian missiles were flying into the air.

Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Odesa, according to local media reports. Power cuts were announced in the Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions, aimed at minimising potential damage to the energy infrastructure. On Wednesday, Russian shelling hit the maternity wing of a hospital in the city of Kherson, though no-one was hurt, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's deputy chief of staff.

"It was terrifying... the explosions started abruptly, the window handle started to tear off... oh, my hands are still shaking," new mother Olha Prysidko said. "The shelling wasn't finished when we arrived in the basement. Not for a second."

Kherson, Ukraine's recently liberated southern city, has remained under constant bombardment from Russian forces who had retreated to the river's east bank when the city was retaken in a major victory for Ukraine last month.

In a video message, Zelenskiy urged Ukrainians to hug their loved ones more often, tell their friends how much they appreciate them, support colleagues, thank their parents, and rejoice with their children more often.

"We have not lost our humanity, although we have endured terrible months," he said. "And we will not lose it, although there is a difficult year ahead." Sweeping sanctions have been imposed on Russia for the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people, driven millions from their homes, left cities in ruins and shaken the global economy, driving up energy and food prices.

Russian gas exports to Europe via pipelines collapsed to a post-Soviet low in 2022 as its largest customer cut imports due to the Ukraine conflict and a major pipeline was damaged by mysterious blasts, Gazprom data and Reuters calculations show.

Zelenskiy is vigorously pushing a 10-point peace plan that envisages Russia respecting Ukraine`s territorial integrity and pulling out all its troops. There can be no peace plan "that does not take into account today's realities regarding Russian territory, with the entry of four regions into Russia", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

TASS cited Lavrov as saying that Russia would continue to build up its fighting strength and technological capabilities in Ukraine. He said that Moscow's mobilised troops had undergone "serious training" and while many were now on the ground, the majority were not yet at the front.

Zelenskiy told parliament to remain united and praised Ukrainians for helping the West "find itself again".

"Our national colours are today an international symbol of courage and indomitability of the whole world," he said in an annual speech held behind closed doors.

"It was terrifying... the explosions started abruptly, the window handle started to tear off... oh, my hands are still shaking," new mother Olha Prysidko said. "The shelling wasn't finished when we arrived in the basement. Not for a second."

On the battlefield, Russia shelled more than 25 settlements in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, according to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces on Wednesday. At the mouth of the Dnipro, the Kherson region serves as a gateway to Russian-annexed Crimea.

Heavy fighting raged around the Ukrainian-held city of Bakhmut in Donetsk's eastern province, and to the north, around the cities of Svatove and Kreminna in Luhansk, where Ukrainian forces are attempting to breach Russian defensive lines.

Russia has likely reinforced the Kreminna section of the frontline because it is logistically important and relatively vulnerable following Ukrainian advances further west, according to Britain's defence ministry.

According to Kyiv-based military analyst Oleh Zhdanov, Kharkiv city and region have also been targeted, causing damage to a regional gas pipeline.

In a Telegram post, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov stated that the city had been attacked twice, "presumably" by Iranian Shahed drones, five of which Ukraine's eastern air command reported downing over the city of Dnipro.