Ukrainian officials say at least 10 others have been injured in the same attacks on the eastern border city.

Russian missile strikes on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, have killed eight people and injured at least 10 others, regional officials said.

Ukraine’s national police said the attack was launched by drones, while regional officials said Russian forces used missiles and bombs. The police and local authorities published pictures of fires that had broken out on city streets and next to buildings

On Saturday, the governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, said six people were killed in overnight missile attacks on the city of Kharkiv.

Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov confirmed that number on the Telegram messaging app, adding that 10 others were wounded. Later the death toll rose to seven.

“The attack hit residential areas – at least nine high-rise buildings, three dormitories, a number of administrative buildings, a shop, a petrol station, a service station and cars were damaged,” Terekhov said.

Photos released by police on Telegram showed several fires in civilian areas, including near a residential high-rise. The strike took place just after midnight, according to local news reports.

Later, on Saturday afternoon, a further strike in Kharkiv killed one more person.

“There is information about one death as a result of a strike on a residential area of the city. There are also injuries,” Terekhov said on Telegram.

“Overnight Russia launched another attack against Kharkiv…,” US Ambassador Bridget A Brink posted on social media platform X following the first attack. “There is not a second to lose to support Ukraine’s fight to defend its people from such horrific and unprovoked attacks.”

Ukraine’s military said on Facebook that its air defences destroyed 28 of 32 drones and three of six missiles launched by Russia.

Air raid alerts remained in effect for Kharkiv and most of the country, including the capital Kyiv, for several hours after the overnight strikes.

Kharkiv, the capital of the region of the same name, lies just 30km (19 miles) from the border with Russia and has come under frequent bombardment since Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022.

The attacks have intensified in the past few weeks. On Wednesday, a drone attack on the city killed four people and badly damaged apartment blocks.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, told the news outlet Politico in an interview published on Thursday, that he saw Kharkiv as the most likely target for any new Russian offensive in May or June.

Ukrainian officials have urged the country’s allies to supply more anti-aircraft defence systems, in particular modern US-made Patriot systems.

US military aid to Ukraine has been drying up, with a $60bn funding package currently stalled in Congress, amid fierce opposition from Republicans.