Ukraine issues nationwide alert as air force warns of missile and drone threat

On Friday, a Russian missile attack wounded at least seven people and damaging several historic buildings

Ukrainian authorities issued air raid alerts for the entire country on Saturday, as the air force warned of missile and drone threats in multiple regions.

Debris is scattered across the road at the site of a Russian strike on Ukraine (via REUTERS)

"Missile threat to Mykolaiv and Kherson regions," the air force said on Telegram, adding that missiles were moving toward the Sumy and Poltava regions as well.

"Enemy strike UAV threat for Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Chernigiv and Zhytomyr regions", it said in a separate post warning of Russian drones.

A drone attack in Zaporizhzhia earlier Saturday caused heavy damage to homes and businesses, the local governor said.

The nearly three-year conflict has shown no signs of de-escalating since US President Donald Trump took office on January 20 after promising to swiftly end the fighting.

On Friday evening, a Russian missile attack struck the centre of the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, wounding at least seven people and damaging historic buildings, officials said.