At least five killed by missile strikes in various regions of Ukraine amid air raid alerts

At least five people were killed early Thursday during strikes across various cities of Ukraine in a sign of renewed Russian attacks.

"So far, four casualties have been reported. These are four adults. Two men and two women. They were at home when the rocket fell. The debris is still being cleared. There may be other people trapped underneath," Lviv Governor Maksym Kozytskyy said on Telegram.

Stating that the air alert in the region lasted for four hours, Kozytskyy said that three residential buildings and three cars were destroyed by rockets.

Separately, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhii Lysak said on Telegram that one person in the region was killed during a missile attack in the Dnipro, Pavlohrad, Kryvorizky, and Nikopol districts.

"Energy infrastructure and industrial enterprises were damaged. There is serious destruction. Emergency services are working in the ground," Lysak further said.

Missiles also struck the capital Kyiv, Kharkiv located close to the Russian border, and the Black Sea city of Odesa.

Odesa Governor Maksym Marchenko said a mass missile attack had hit an energy facility, triggering power cuts.

“As a result of a mass missile strike, an energy infrastructure site was hit in the region as well as residences,” Marchenko said on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties.

Separately, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko announced that the last power line that fed the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was damaged during attacks in the region, noting that the station is currently running on diesel generators.

Ukraine's national nuclear energy company Energoatom also said on Telegram that the plant is currently in blackout mode for the sixth time since the start of the war, with only 10 days of fuel stock left to operate the generators.

"The countdown has begun. If the off-site power supply to the plant cannot be restored within that time frame, an accident may occur having radiation consequences for the whole world," the statement added.

Now in its second year, the Russia-Ukraine war has so far killed 8,173 civilians and injured 13,620, according to the latest UN figures.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​