Russian forces have attacked multiple targets across Ukraine, including areas in the east and south as well as the Kyiv region.

A senior UN official has expressed hope that grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports will resume soon.

Russia's defense ministry said on Thursday that its missile strikes destroyed nine command posts in the eastern region of Donetsk, the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia and the southern region of Kherson. It also said its forces took out six ammunition depots in Donetsk and the southern region of Mykolaiv.

The governor of Ukraine's central region of Kirovohrad said in a social media post on Thursday that a Russian missile attack in the city of Kropyvnytsky left five people dead and 25 others wounded. He said at a news briefing that missiles hit hangars at a flight school.

A senior Ukrainian military official said Russia fired six cruise missiles at a military facility in the Kyiv region on early Thursday morning, destroying one building and damaging two others. The official said the missiles were launched from near the Crimean Peninsula.

Meanwhile, UN Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths told a news conference in New York on Thursday that he was hoping ships carrying grains leave Ukrainian ports on Thursday or Friday.

A Joint Coordination Center opened in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Wednesday to ensure the safe passage of ships through the Black Sea. The center was established under a deal recently reached by Ukraine and Russia with mediation by the United Nations and Turkey.

Ukraine is one of the world's top exporters of grains, such as wheat and corn. But the country has been unable to export huge amounts of harvested crops largely due to Russia's blockade of Black Sea ports. The blockage has disrupted the global food supply chain and driven up prices.