Battle of Kharkiv

Russian strikes killed three people in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, the regional governor said early Friday, hours after the United States authorised Kiev to use American weapons to hit targets inside Russia in defense of the embattled region.

A devastating event has occurred in Kharkiv, Ukraine, following a Russian strike reported by Ukrainian sources. A major construction hypermarket, "Epicenter," was hit by two guided aerial bombs. At the time of the attack, around 200 people were believed to be inside, according to the online publication "Gordon."

Russian forces launched 15 rocket attacks on Kharkiv today, resulting in at least seven dead and 16 injured, as reported by Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, and Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

Russian attacks on Ukraine's Kharkiv region on Sunday killed at least 11 people, said authorities in the border area facing a new offensive by Moscow's forces.

Russian troops since May 10 have carried out a ground assault in the northeastern region, where they have achieved their largest territorial gains in the last 18 months.

For 16 hours, the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv remained under air alert, the longest duration since the war began. The alert was lifted a few hours after midnight.

Russian forces are reportedly making advances towards the Ukrainian village of Lyptsi near Kharkiv, according to a report by the Russian news agency RIA. The ongoing conflict in the Kharkiv region has prompted Ukraine to withdraw its troops from several villages along the border, with soldiers relocating to safer positions in response to heavy fire from Russian forces.

Russia on Monday pummelled more than 30 towns and villages in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region after launching a surprise ground offensive over the border last week, the local governor said.

The Ukrainian army acknowledged Russia was "achieving tactical success" after the ground assault, which sparked the evacuation of almost 6,000 people.

Russian strikes Friday morning hit the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv as well as Lviv in the country's west, the mayors of the two cities said.

"At least six explosions were heard in the city," Kharkiv mayor Igor Terekhov said in a Telegram post, while his Lviv counterpart Andriy Sadovyi reported "information about 2 strikes in Lviv".

At least seven civilians were killed in a shelling of the center of Kharkov on Thursday, local Ukrainian officials said. The Russian army also attacked more than 40 cities in Donbas, the Ukrainian army claims.

The West supports Ukraine with weapons against the backdrop of massive battles in Donbas, Here are the highlights of events in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Ukrainian and Russian forces are fighting along a 480-kilometer front line in eastern Ukraine