At least five killed in past 24 hours in Russian attacks on Ukraine

At least five people have been killed in Ukraine by Russian attacks in the past 24 hours, as Moscow launched an overnight barrage of 112 drones, according to regional authorities.

Three of the victims died in Ukraine's Sumy region and two others in Kherson province, local authorities said.

Serhii Chernov, a local resident of Stepanivka, a settlement in the Sumy oblast, described a drone attack on his community.

“I had already fallen asleep, and then it began, 17 explosions in a row," he said. "Then there was a short pause, and after that, another three."

The drones had "different types of warheads", he added, noting that some of the blasts were stronger than others.

Many homes in the town were destroyed by the attack. Liubov, another local resident, said she was at home when the strike damaged her house.

The southern port city of Odesa endured a heavy night of Russian bombing, with at least five people injured as fires broke out across the city.

More than 80 rescue personnel and 18 fire engines were mobilised to help manage the blazes, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service.

Ukraine’s armed forces said on their Telegram channel that they had shot down or repelled 87 of the drones, but 22 of them succeeded in hitting 12 separate locations.

On Wednesday, Russia's Defence Ministry claimed it had taken control of one settlement in the Zaporizhzhia region.

That same day, Ukraine’s General Staff reported around 200 firefights along the front lines over the past 24 hours.