A Russian drone strike hit residential buildings in Kharkiv late on Thursday, killing at least two people and injuring 32 others, Ukrainian officials said, as nightly attacks on the country's cities continue to mount.

The strike targeted the Novobavarskyi district of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, sparking fires on the rooftops of multi-storey apartment blocks. Regional Governor Oleg Syniehubov said two children were among the injured, and that emergency services were working through the night to search for survivors in the rubble.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov later confirmed that human remains of a third person had been discovered at the scene.

Just outside the city, one more person was reported injured in a drone strike on the village of Ruski Tyshky.

Kharkiv has faced relentless aerial bombardment this week, including a one-hour drone barrage on Wednesday. The city, which repelled Russia’s ground assault in the early weeks of the 2022 invasion, has since become a frequent target of long-range attacks.

Elsewhere, in the southeastern city of Dnipro, three people were wounded following a separate drone attack, according to local authorities. And in the Zaporizhzhia region, at least seven drones struck various sites, injuring one.

The strikes come amid an intensifying campaign of Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and urban areas, as the war approaches its third year.

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