Russian air attacks kill at least five people across Ukraine

Russia launched a wave of missiles, glide bombs and drones across Ukraine overnight, killing and injuring several people as well as damaging buildings, local official said on Saturday.

Three people were killed and 10 injured, including children, when a missile hit a residential building in the central city of Poltava, authorities there said.

In the north-eastern city Sumy, not far from the Russian border, two people were killed in an attack, while another person died in a drone assault in the eastern city of Kharkiv.

There was also severe damage in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya and in the port of Odessa, where buildings in the historic city centre were hit and several people hurt.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said the attacks had targeted the country's energy infrastructure, which Ukraine uses to maintain the operation of its defence industry.

"The objectives of the strikes were achieved. All targeted objects were destroyed," the ministry announced.

It is almost impossible to independently verify the information provided by the warring sides. Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia's all-out war for almost three years.