At least five people were killed and 21 others injured after Russian forces launched a wave of overnight missile and aerial attacks against Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said.

Five people were killed and 20 wounded in Zaporizhzhia, while one person was injured in the capital, according to Ukrainian authorities. The attacks involved ballistic missiles and guided aerial bombs, with explosions reported in both cities shortly after midnight.

Residents in Zaporizhzhia reported a series of powerful explosions as Russia launched the strikes. A reporter for The Kyiv Independent described hearing roughly 10 explosions and said a subsequent blast shook an entire building. Ukrainian officials later said the city had been targeted with both ballistic missiles and guided bombs.

Zaporizhzhia Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said the strikes damaged residential buildings and other structures, while fires broke out and parts of the city experienced power outages. Emergency crews were dispatched to affected areas to extinguish fires and assist those injured.

In Kyiv, residents also reported multiple explosions during the night. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said emergency medical teams were sent to the Shevchenkivskyi district, where a warehouse was damaged. Ukrainian officials subsequently reported that one person had been injured in the capital.

The Ukrainian Air Force warned during the attacks that Russian ballistic missiles were targeting several regions, including Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv. Air-raid alerts were issued repeatedly as authorities also warned of possible Russian drone attacks following the missile barrage.

The latest strikes come amid an intensification of Russia's long-range air campaign against Ukraine. Ukrainian cities have faced increasingly frequent attacks involving ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, guided bombs and large numbers of drones, putting additional pressure on the country's air-defense systems.

A major Russian ballistic missile and drone attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region earlier this month killed at least 15 people and injured dozens more, according to Ukrainian authorities, highlighting the growing scale of the aerial threat.

The shortage of air-defense interceptors has remained a major concern for Kyiv as Russia continues to employ ballistic weapons that are considerably more difficult to intercept than many cruise missiles and drones.

The latest overnight barrage also comes as fighting continues across multiple parts of Ukraine, with Russian forces maintaining pressure through missile, drone and guided-bomb attacks while Ukrainian forces continue striking targets inside Russian territory.

With emergency teams still assessing the damage in Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities warned that the full extent of the destruction could become clearer as inspections of damaged buildings and infrastructure continue. (ILKHA)