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KYIV, Ukraine, Jan 17, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Kyiv said Wednesday that Russia had launched 20 Iranian-designed attack drones at targets in southern Ukraine overnight, and that its air defence systems destroyed all but one.

The announcement came after authorities said 20 people had been injured in Russian attacks in the eastern city of Kharkiv and Odesa on the Black Sea.

Ukraine has seen a steep rise in civilian casualties since December, as Moscow intensifies air attacks, reversing a downward trend seen earlier in 2023, the United Nations has warned.

"The enemy struck with 20 Shahed-136/131 attack UAVs from the Primorsko-Akhtarsk region of Russia and with two S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles from the Belgorod region of Russia from near Kharkiv," Ukraine's air force said in a statement on social media.

It said Ukraine had used guided missiles and mobile air defence units in southern regions, including Dnipro.