Firefighters pass by debris of a building following a missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Dec 29, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

KYIV - At least five people were killed and 40 others injured in Russia's missile strikes across Ukraine on Tuesday morning, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram.

Three people were killed in the eastern city of Kharkiv, where missiles hit two apartment buildings, one person was killed in the town of Pavlohrad in central Ukraine, and another one in Kyiv, Klymenko said.

In Kyiv, 18 people were wounded, with 13 hospitalized, following the attacks that resulted in fires and damage across three districts, the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia used 41 missiles in the attack, including 15 cruise missiles and 12 ballistic missiles.

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The air defense downed all cruise missiles, five ballistic missiles and a guided aviation missile, it said.

The aerial strikes marked the fourth massive Russian attack on Ukraine in less than a month.