Russian forces fired 71 shells at Kherson from yesterday to this morning, hitting the city centre, residential areas, medical and educational institutions and “critical infrastructure facilities”, Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram.

“As a result of Russian aggression, four people died and nine others were wounded, including one child.”

Prokudin said an 87-year-old man and his 81-year-old wife were among the victims after an artillery shell hit a residential building.

Rescuers found a third male victim under rubble, he added.

Ukraine recaptured Kherson following several months of Russian occupation in November last year.

It is now a regular target for Moscow’s forces based on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River, which became a natural frontline as the conflict slowed to a war of attrition.

Separately, Ukraine’s air force today said it had intercepted all but one of 15 drones launched by Russia overnight.