Officials said Russian missile strikes in Ukraine overnight and on Saturday killed eight people and injured 12 others.

According to Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov, six people were killed and 11 others injured in nighttime missile attacks on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, damaging residential buildings, a gas station, a kindergarten, a café, a store, and cars.

Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said another raid Saturday afternoon on Kharkiv resulted in one death and one injury, and Odesa governor Oleh Kiper said another missile attack killed a civilian in the southern Odesa region.

Overall, Russia launched 32 Iranian-made Shahed drones and six missiles on Ukraine overnight, according to the air force commander, General Mykola Oleshchuk, who said in a statement that Ukrainian air defenses shot down three cruise missiles and 28 drones. He added: "The Russian killers continue to terrorize Ukrainians and attack Kharkiv and other peaceful cities."

The Russian Defense Ministry said the attacks overnight targeted Ukrainian military facilities that "produce and repair armored vehicles, vehicles, and drones," as well as "military airports" and areas allegedly housing "foreign mercenaries." The ministry claimed all designated targets were hit.

It also said Ukraine launched vampire missiles on Russia Saturday morning. The ministry said air defense systems shot down all ten aircraft over the Russian border region of Belgorod.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the missiles were shot down as they approached the city of Belgorod, the capital of the eponymous region, adding that 12 residential buildings in the city were damaged. Gladkov said that in a nearby village, a private house burned and several other buildings were damaged.

It was not immediately clear from his statement whether the damage resulted from falling debris from intercepted missiles or whether some had actually struck those buildings.

Battles on the ground

Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian armed forces, said Russian forces were advancing on the ground in Ukraine, and countering them was "difficult."

Syrskyi added that the situation in the Bakhmut area in the partially occupied Donetsk region presents a particular challenge. He added that Russian forces are carrying out offensive operations day and night, using assault groups supported by armored vehicles, as well as infantry attacks.

Fierce battles are raging east of the town of Chasiv Yar, which Ukraine still controls and is located near the occupied city of Bakhmut.

Syrskyi said via the messaging app Telegram that Russian forces are trying to break through defensive lines there, adding that "Chasiv Yar remains under our control, and all enemy attempts to break into the settlement have failed."

Near Avdiivka, another city in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region, the fiercest fighting took place in Pervomaiskyi and Vodiany, according to the official. He added that the situation is tense in the southern and northeastern parts of the front line.