Hostilities intensified overnight, with Ukrainian officials reporting enemy forces targeted the east of the country with substantive drone and missile attacks.
The Ukrainian air force says it has struck down 10 missiles, 23 Iran-made Shahed drones and two reconnaissance drones, as air alarms blared in Kyiv. Russia has struck targets in the regions of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk, according to the Ukrainian air force. CNBC could not independently verify the developments.
Serhiy Lysak, Dnipropetrovsk regional governor, said separately that Russia had launched a substantial mass drone and missile incursion overnight, damaging homes and private companies and starting a fire.
Beyond the front line, President Alexander Lukashenko of Moscow ally Belarus signaled that Russia has moved ahead with plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on Belarus' territory.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said Moscow may consider a preemptive strike if Western powers supply Ukraine with nuclear weapons.