Ukrainian drone and shelling attacks killed three people in Russia on Friday, while Russian bombardments on eastern Ukraine forced the evacuation of a maternity centre in Kharkiv and wounded nine.

Russia launched its largest drone and missile bombardment of Ukraine overnight into Wednesday, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Russia fired a record 728 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, as well as 13 cruise and ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian air force said, in the latest escalation after weeks of mounting Russian aerial and ground attacks in the more than three-year war.