Russia has repeated drone attacks on Ukraine's southern port city of Izmail. The area has served as a hub for an alternative agricultural export route since Moscow quit a deal that allows Kyiv to safely ship its grain through the Black Sea.

Ukraine's Air Force said on Thursday that it shot down 25 out of 33 drones launched by Russia toward the southern region of Odesa and elsewhere.

Odesa's governor said in a social media post on the same day that drone strikes damaged port infrastructure, grain silos and other buildings in Izmail along the Danube River. He added that the attack was the fourth of its kind on the city in five days.

Meanwhile, Russia has been staging what it calls elections in four eastern and southern Ukrainian regions which Moscow announced last year it annexed.
The move comes as voting begins in gubernatorial and other local elections across Russia on Friday.