At least five persons were killed, according to media and officials, in Russia's early Friday morning attacks on Ukrainian cities, which spanned from the capital, Kyiv, through central and southern regions.
After Russian forces made little progress during their winter offensive, Ukrainian troops are expected to launch an offensive with new military equipment, including tanks, from their Western allies.
Ihor Taburets, the director of the military administration in the region, stated that three people were killed and eight were injured when a missile struck an apartment building in the city of Uman, setting it on fire.
A child and a young woman were slain when a missile struck a home in Dnipro, the city's mayor, Borys Filatov, said on Telegram. The strike resulted in three injuries.
In addition to explosions and air raid sirens, explosions were reported throughout Ukraine. Two individuals were injured in the Kyiv region town of Ukrayinka.
The military administration of the capital city reported that anti-aircraft units had destroyed eleven missiles and two drones, with debris damaging an electrical line.
After midnight, explosions were also reported in Dnipro, Kremenchuk, and Poltava in central Ukraine and Mykolaiv in the south, according to Interfax.
Throughout the conflict, Russian forces have endured setbacks and have spent ten months attempting to enter the ruins of Bakhmut, once a city of 70,000.
Russia views Bakhmut as a crucial stepping stone to other cities in eastern Ukraine, currently its principal military objective.
Russia's attacks on Friday came a day after the Kremlin said it would welcome anything that could bring an end to the conflict closer, alluding to a phone conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
It was their first conversation since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.
However, the Kremlin stated its "special military operation" in Ukraine was incomplete. President Vladimir Putin of Russia initiated the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, citing the need to defend Russia.
Ukraine and its Western allies rejected this notion, arguing that Putin's invasion was an unprovoked land seizure that sparked the largest land conflict in Europe since World War II.
