UPDATE - At least 20 injured due to Russian airstrikes in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Odesa

UPDATES WITH MORE INJURIES; ADDS STATEMENT FROM UKRAINIAN INTERIOR MINISTER; REVSIES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - At least 20 people were injured in Russian airstrikes on the cities of Kharkiv and Odesa in eastern and southwestern Ukraine.

"A difficult night for Kharkiv and Odesa: at least 20 civilians were injured, some in serious condition," Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram.

Klymenko said that two missiles were fired on Kharkiv during which 17 people were injured, while 30 residents were evacuated by the country's State Emergency Service.

"As a result of the impact, two dozen high-rise buildings and cars were damaged," he added.

As for Odesa, the interior minister said three people were injured due to a drone attack, after which rescuers evacuated 130 residents.

"The Russian military also attacked the Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions. Fortunately, there were no casualties. In total, 10 strikes on eight settlements of the country were recorded," he added.

Elsewhere, Ukraine’s Air Force claimed that it downed 19 out of 20 drones launched by Russia against the country overnight, further claiming that two S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles were also fired from the Belgorod region.

Russian authorities have not yet commented on the strikes or claims.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have exchanged accusations over airstrikes against each other that intensified since late December, when at least 40 people were killed in various regions of Ukraine in a massive air attack, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as the "heaviest attack" since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.

On Jan. 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country will not let “a single crime of this kind” go unpunished following a subsequent raid on the Russian city of Belgorod, which killed 25 people and wounded many others.