Loud blasts in Ukraine's Kiev after ballistic missile warning

A series of loud blasts were heard in the Ukraine capital Kiev Friday morning and smoke could be seen rising over part of the city, AFP staff reported, after authorities warned of a ballistic missile attack.

"Ballistic missile from the north!" the Ukraine air force warned in a Telegram message, nearly three years after Russia invaded in a war that has cost tens of thousands of lives.

Authorities also reported missile attacks in the southern port city of Kherson, where one person was killed and six wounded, as well as several other Ukrainian cities and towns.

Moscow's forces are advancing in the Kharkiv region that borders Russia and are aiming to recapture the town of Kupiansk.

Ukraine recaptured it in September 2022 as part of a lightning offensive that saw its forces regain large swathes of the Kharkiv region.