17 injured in Russian strikes on Ukraine's Kharkiv: governor

At least 17 people were wounded in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Tuesday evening, the regional governor said.

Governor Oleg Synegubov said that the strikes hit residential buildings in the city centre, injuring at least 17.

"Two women are in a serious condition," he added in a post on Telegram.

Synegubov said that according to preliminary information, the city was hit by two S-300 missiles.

Kharkiv, just 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the border with Russia in Ukraine's northeast, has come under frequent bombardment since Moscow decided to invade in February 2022.

After the strikes, the city's mayor said that some residential buildings were destroyed and that there were no military targets in the area.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow.

Earlier on Tuesday, authorities urged around 3,000 residents in more than two dozen villages near the frontline in the wider Kharkiv region to evacuate, citing escalating Russian attacks in the area. 

A drone attack on Tuesday night also injured three civilians and damaged residential buildings in the southern city of Odessa, according to the head of the region's military administration, Oleg Kiper.

"A 62-year-old man was injured by shrapnel... A woman born in 1955 and a young woman born in 1995 were wounded" he said.

Russia meanwhile said it had repelled an attack early Wednesday on its border city Belgorod, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Kharkiv.

"Anti-aircraft defence destroyed seven Ukrainian missiles and four drones over the Belgorod region," Russia's Defence Ministry said.

The region's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said there were no immediate casualties reported.

Russian forces captured swathes of the Kharkiv region shortly after invading Ukraine in February 2022, and have kept up efforts to wrest the region despite losing ground there.