Multiple explosions rock Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region

Kyiv [Ukraine], June 30 : Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region was rocked by multiple explosions on Friday, according to reports from Ukrainian and Russia-backed officials, CNN reported.

"There were 11 explosions in Berdiansk. There is fire and detonations in the airport area. Ambulances headed in that direction. We are awaiting for official information from the General Staff of the AFU (Armed Forces Ukraine)," said a post on the Ukrainian city administration's Telegram channel.

Vladimir Rogov, a Russia-installed official in Zaporizhzhia, claimed the blasts were caused by Russian air defences downing missiles fired by Ukraine.

"The explosions heard were the air defence which successfully repelled the attack on the outskirts of the city," he said.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military has advised the residents of the northern Sumy region's border area to leave their homes in light of increased Russian shelling, as per CNN.

Serhiy Naiev, commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, urged the residents to evacuate and said, "The Sumy direction remains the most dangerous in the Northern operational zone."

"The enemy fires with artillery, mortars, and multiple rocket launchers. While I was in one of the settlements, I personally convinced an elderly family to leave urgently, because there was imminent danger. I call on all citizens who live in the border areas of the Sumy region to leave," Naiev said on Telegram.

Earlier Thursday, the armed forces published images of damage to property in the border area of Sumy, saying there is constant shelling from Russian forces.

The Sumy regional military administration said there was no threat of Russian invasion. "We have not observed any attack groups along our border. No enemy offensive actions have been observed," it said.

However, it added, "Russia's shelling of our border has not stopped for a single day. The intensity and number of attacks are only increasing. The shelling is carried out daily, 24 hours a day, using various types of weapons from machine guns and mortars to air strikes."

Sumy lies 30 miles (48 kilometres) from the border with Russia and was one of the first cities attacked as part of the Russian invasion in February 2022, reported CNN.

Earlier, on Tuesday evening, four people, including a child, were killed and several others were injured when a Russian missile struck a bustling location in the middle of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, reported CNN citing local authorities.

According to Pavlo Kyrylenko, chief of the military administration for the Donetsk area, the attacks occurred at approximately 7:30 pm (local time) on Tuesday.

The Russia-Ukraine war that started on February 24, 2022, has taken numerous lives and the war continues to escalate between the two nations even now.