Russia shelled Ukrainian communities throughout a vast span of the border from north to south, Ukrainian officials reported yesterday, a day after Moscow launched dozens of missiles targeting vital infrastructure in its current offensive.

According to officials, several explosions and the sound of anti-aircraft fire were heard south of the Ukrainian capital on Thursday night as Russian forces fired 16 Iranian-made Shahid drones. According to the Ukrainian military, all drones have been destroyed.

The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, stated that seven attacks had been launched against the city, where an administrative building was damaged.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces general staff reported last evening that Russian forces had attempted to move near Bakhmut and Avdiivka, the main areas of their slow-moving assault, to seize the entire Donetsk region in the east.

Russian forces opened fire on several towns and villages, including Bakhmut, Kudryumivka to the south, adjacent Soledar, and the strategic city of Kostyantynivka to the west of Bakhmut.

Facebook reported that Russian forces also shot at Avdiivka, the adjacent key town of Maryinka, and Nevelske.

Russian military shelled western Donetsk region villages, including the town of Vuhledar.

President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukrainian forces were maintaining their positions in the eastern Donbas region and achieving modest gains in certain places.

Mr. Zelensky stated in his weekly video message yesterday night, "Overall, we're maintaining our positions." In some parts of the front, we are also making some progress.

According to the general staff report, Russian forces shelled multiple villages around Kupiansk, in the north-east Kharkiv region, regained by Ukraine in September, as well as settlements in the Luhansk region, where Ukrainian troops intend to expand following recent advances.

The southern part of Zaporizhzhya, including the contested town of Hulyaipole, was also shelled. On the opposite side of the Kakhovka reservoir from the Russian-held Zaporizhia nuclear power station, shelling occurred in and near Ukrainian-held Nikopol.

On the southern front, there was renewed Russian bombardment of infrastructure in the abandoned city of Kherson and Kachkarivka, farther north on the west bank of the Dnieper River.

Russia's defense ministry announced earlier that it had conducted a "massive strike" against energy and military-industrial targets to impede Ukraine's capacity to repair equipment and transport soldiers.