Russian forces hit a five-story residential building in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, killing at least one person and causing a fire, Oleh Synyehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, said after the attack that occurred around midnight local time on May 30.
In addition to the one fatality, 12 people were injured, officials said early on May 31 after Synyehubov said on Telegram that it was possible that some people were trapped in the burning rubble.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov said several strikes had occurred in the area after the initial hit.
Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, is located just 35 kilometers from the Russian border and has been repeatedly pounded by Moscow's artillery and air strikes over the past several weeks as Ukraine's defenses face difficulties in repelling such attacks.
Concern has been rising among Ukraine’s Western military backers about the attacks, which are part of a cross-border offensive that Moscow launched earlier this month.
In a reversal of policy, U.S. President Joe Biden reportedly gave Ukraine the go-ahead to use U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia for the purpose of defending the city of Kharkiv.
News of the decision, which has not been confirmed by the White House, came after calls grew louder for the U.S. to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weapons against missile launchers and other military sites across the border from Kharkiv.
At two-day informal NATO foreign ministers meeting in Prague, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the "time has come" for members of the alliance to reconsider some of the restrictions attached to the use of weapons they supplied to Ukraine in support of the country's fight against Russia.
As the meeting kicked off on May 30, Russia launched a large-scale attack that targeted military and civilian infrastructure in nine Ukrainian regions, causing casualties and damage.
Russian missiles struck two locations in Kharkiv, wounding seven people, six of them women, Synyehubov said earlier on May 30.
"A two-story administrative building was hit, resulting in partial destruction, followed by a fire. Six women and one man received minor injuries," Synyehubov said.
Terekhov said critical infrastructure, including a gas pipeline, was damaged in the strikes, which also triggered a fire.
Separately, the Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down all 32 drones and seven of the 19 cruise missiles launched by Russia.
Ukraine also claimed naval drones destroyed two Russian "Tunets" boats in Crimea.
The Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) said in a statement that HUR's special unit Group 13, with the help of Ukrainian Magura V5 maritime attack drones, “once again successfully attacked the ship depot of the aggressor state of Russia in the temporarily occupied Crimea."
HUR said Russian troops used several attack helicopters to in an unsuccessful attempt to repel the attack. The Tunets is an 8.8-meter-long and 2.5-meter wide diesel boat mainly used by Russian border guards.
