KYIV, Ukraine, April 23, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A Russian aerial strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa injured nine people overnight, including four children, Ukrainian officials said.

The port city on the Black Sea has been targeted by relentless Russian missile and drone attacks since the start of the two-year war.

"As a result of Russian terror, residential buildings were damaged and there was a fire," Ukraine's state emergency services said Tuesday in a post on Telegram.

The cause of the damage was a Russian drone that had been shot down by Ukrainian air defences, the army command for the south of the country said.

The emergency services posted photos and videos showing a building on fire, rescuers sifting through the rubble and consoling residents.

In Odesa, nine were injured, including four children, two of whom were under a year old.

Another person was injured by falling debris in the Mykolaiv region, the governor said Tuesday.

The air force said it downed 15 of 16 Russian drones fired at Ukrainian territory overnight.

Russia also fired two ballistic missiles, Ukraine said, but did not say whether they hit their targets.

Some of the drones were fired at the capital Kyiv, the city administration said.