Mass Russian drone attack on Ukraine's Kharkiv, nine injured

Russian forces launched a mass drone attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, late on Wednesday, injuring nine people and causing considerable damage, emergency services and officials said.

Emergency services, posting on the Telegram messaging app, said the attacks started four fires in the city centre and posted pictures of firefighters battling flames alongside piles of rubble. The strikes, it said, caused serious damage to buildings.

Mayor Ihor Terekhov said there had been at least 12 drone strikes on the city, a frequent target of Russia's military, located some 30 km (18 miles) from the border.

Kharkiv resisted capture in the early weeks of Russia's February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but has been repeatedly hit by drones and missiles and Russian forces changed the focus of their campaign to Ukraine's east.

A drone attack also triggered fires in the central city of Dnipro, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram. Pictures posted online showed smoke and flames drifting skyward.

No casualties were immediately reported in the city.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar; Editing by Sandra Maler)