The region, which borders Belarus to the north, was occupied at the beginning of Russia’s invasion but has been spared fierce fighting for around two years since Moscow’s army withdrew.

“The enemy launched three missile strikes almost in the centre of the city. There are civilians who have been killed and many wounded. Rescuers are working now,” governor Vyacheslav Chaus said in a statement on social media.

The region’s administrative centre, also called Chernigiv, lies some 145km north of the capital Kyiv and had a pre-war population of around 285,000 people.

It was badly damaged when Russian tanks swept into Ukraine from Belarusian territory in February 2022.

Ukraine has been appealing to its allies abroad to supply it with more sophisticated air defence systems to ward off systematic Russian strikes on key infrastructure.