The Russian Army attacked several regions of Ukraine with drones, local authorities reported, saying that at least two people were killed in Odesa.
Air alerts were activated in 11 regions of Ukraine during the onslaught late on April 30 and into the overnight hours.
The "large-scale" attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa, as described by the Ukrainian State Emergency Service in a Telegram post, killed two people and injured 15 others.
Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram that the Russian attack on Odesa damaged high-rise buildings, houses, a supermarket, and a school.
"Fires broke out in some places, which our rescuers are extinguishing," he added.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5
'Large-Scale' Russian Drone Strike Hits Odesa
Kiper had warned earlier about the threat of drone strikes, telling residents of Odesa and the region to take cover.
"Emergency and utility services are working on the ground to eliminate the consequences of the attacks and provide the necessary medical assistance to the victims," Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov said on Telegram.
Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, responded to the Russia attack on Odesa by calling for a "complete cease-fire" in a Telegram post.
"We must push for it together with the United States and Europe," he wrote, saying that "Putin will always have the desire to kill."
"But diplomacy, force, and economic pressure will compel Russia to end the war," he added.
Explosions were also heard in the northeastern city of Sumy and air raid warnings were triggered in several places including Sumy, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhya.
SEE ALSO: 'I Will Wait For Peace': As Russian Bombs Hit Kostyantynivka, One Woman Resolves To StayKharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhova announced that a drone had hit on the border of two districts in the city. A fire broke out at the site of impact, and an undetermined number of people were injured.
Terekhova later reported that the drone hit at a gas station in the Kyiv district.
The eastern city of Kharkiv also came under attack, regional governor Oleh Synyehubov said, citing preliminary information. He added that a fire broke out as a result.
SEE ALSO: Ukraine, US Sign Minerals Deal Creating Reconstruction Investment FundThe strikes came as the United States and Ukraine signed a minerals deal that US President Donald Trump's administration said was and economic partnership in recognition of the “significant financial and material support that the people of the United States have provided to the defense of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion.”
After initial hesitation, Ukraine accepted the agreement as a way to secure long-term investment by Washington amid moves by Trump and his administration to curtail US security commitments around the world.
Meanwhile, a group of 72 US senators has thrown its support behind a bill threatening Russia with severe new sanctions if it refuses to engage in serious negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
The announcement was made by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the bill's sponsors, Bloomberg reports.
According to a draft obtained by Bloomberg News, the proposed measures include a sweeping 500 percent tariff on imports from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, petroleum products, or uranium.
Graham said he has enough support in the House to bring the sanctions bill to the floor there as well, according to Bloomberg.