At least 21 people were killed and 112 wounded in shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in the last 24 hours, regional governor Oleg Synegubov said on Wednesday.
Overnight, Ukrainian defence positions were were “constantly under the influence of enemy fire, aviation, jet artillery, and firearms,” Oleh Sinehubov said in an update on his official Facebook page this morning.
The authorities have said Russian missile attacks hit the centre of Ukraine's second-largest city, including residential areas and the regional administration building.
On Wednesday, The Ukrainian army said Russian airborne troops landed in the city of Kharkiv.
"Russian airborne troops landed in Kharkiv... and attacked a local hospital," the army said in a statement on messaging app Telegram. "There is an ongoing fight between the invaders and the Ukrainians."
Kharkiv, a largely Russian-speaking city near the Russian border, has a population of around 1.4 million.
It has been a target for Russian forces since President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine last Thursday and which intensified on Tuesday.
