At least seven people were killed and dozens wounded on January 23 in a fresh wave of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, and Kharkiv as an air-raid alert was declared for the whole territory of Ukraine.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, the number of people killed in the Russian attack increased to five, the Prosecutor-General's Office said on Telegram, after initial reports put the number at three.
"Despite the efforts of the medics, two wounded people died in the hospital," the message reads.
Another 51 people were wounded, including four children, regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram, adding that Russian Kh-22 missiles struck civilian targets in the Kyiv and Saltivka districts.
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"Apartment buildings, an educational institution, and other exclusively civilian infrastructure were destroyed," Synyehubov wrote.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said 30 residential buildings were damaged, some 1,000 windows were broken, and the heating had to be turned off in 20 houses as the temperatures reached minus seven degrees Celsius.
In Kyiv, at least 20 people, including four children, were wounded, Mayor Vitali Klitschko and city administration chief Roman Popko said on Telegram.
One woman was declared clinically dead despite efforts by doctors to resuscitate her, Popko said.
Three districts -- Pechersk, Svyatoshynsk, and Solomyansk -- were targeted in the attack, Klitschko said.
"As a result of the Russian missile attack, 20 people were wounded; 13 of them are hospitalized, including three children. One 13-year-old boy and six adult victims were treated by medics on the spot," Klitschko wrote.
Russian missiles also hit the city of Pavlohrad, in the southern region of Dnipropetrovsk, killing at least one person, regional Governor Serhiy Lysak announced on Telegram.
In Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed on January 23 that the missile strikes "successfully" targeted Ukraine's military production facilities, hitting all intended targets, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov again denied that Russian forces had struck civilian areas, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Russia over the past several weeks has abruptly intensified its missile strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets, causing numerous deaths, injuries, and material damage. The eastern city of Kharkiv, just 30 kilometers from the Russian border, has been particularly targeted by Russian strikes.
According to Ukrainian officials, only between December 29 and January 2, Russia launched more than 500 Iranian-made drones and cruise missiles at Ukraine's cities.
The unusually intense wave of strikes has also put pressure on Ukraine's air-defense capabilities and its ammunition stockpiles, prompting President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to call on Kyiv's allies to step up weapons deliveries.
With reporting by AP
This content originally appeared on News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and was authored by News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.