UPDATE - Air raid alerts sounded across Ukraine, explosions heard

UPDATES INFORMATION ON EXPLOSIONS; UPDATES HEADLINE

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Air raid alerts were sounded across Ukraine early on Thursday, including in the capital Kyiv, due to impending Russian attacks, officials said.

Local authorities took to Telegram to urge residents to move to bomb shelters, while Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim said four rockets were launched in the air.

“Ukraine has already withstood the most difficult enemy strikes, which did not have the results that these Russian cowards expected. We continue to move forward,” said Andriy Yermak, head of the president's office, on Telegram.

Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko said explosions were heard in the Dnipro region and in Kyiv.

State-run news agency Ukrinform reported the Dnipro region suffered a power outage after an explosion.

Later, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said that two infrastructures were hit several times by shelling.

"The enemy launched a missile attack on an infrastructure facility in our region. There is a threat of a massive missile attack on the entire territory of Ukraine. I ask the residents of the region to stay in shelters," Odesa Governor Maksym Marchenko said on Telegram.

No warnings were reported in the Crimea region, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

Air raid alerts are sounded in Ukraine almost on a daily basis due to possible missile and drone strikes, which have targeted the country's civilian and energy infrastructure.

The alerts on Thursday come as three residential buildings were hit in Kyiv on Tuesday, killing a civilian.

Officials also reported explosions in multiple cities including Rivne, Lviv, Vinnytsia, and Kovel.​​​​​​​