Russia has launched a fresh wave of drone and missile strikes against Ukraine, resulting in air raid sirens sounding across the country.

Explosions were heard overnight in the capital, Kyiv, and the southern Odesa region, resulting in one person being killed and several others injured.

The Ukrainian Red Cross said that its warehouse was hit, causing all aid deliveries to be suspended. This marks the fourth attack in eight days on Kyiv, coming just 24 hours before Russia celebrates Victory Day, which commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.

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Moscow has intensified its air raids over the past week ahead of a widely expected Ukrainian counter-offensive.

The latest Russian raids saw Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones swarm across Ukraine, with nearly 60 drones launched by Russia, according to Kyiv’s Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko.

All 36 drones were destroyed over Kyiv, but five people were injured by falling debris from downed drones.

Emergency services responded after drone wreckage fell on a runway at Zhuliany international airport, while civilians were injured after drone debris hit a residential building in the central Shevchenkivskyi district.

Elsewhere, in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, a warehouse was set ablaze after eight missiles were fired at targets by Russian bombers.

In response to the attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that 9 May would from now be celebrated as Europe Day, in line with the European Union.

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The move is seen as a pointed rebuke to Russia. Mr Zelensky also said that 8 May would now officially be a Day of Remembrance and Victory, as marked in many countries around the world.

The Ukrainian military’s command said there had also been a wave of missile strikes on the Kherson, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv regions, resulting in at least eight people – including a child – being injured in two villages in the southern Kherson region, local officials said.