Kyiv, July 24 (QNA) - Five people were killed and nine others injured today as a result of two Russian strikes targeting the city of Sloviansk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

Vadym Filashkin, the governor of the Donetsk region, said that Russian forces dropped two aerial bombs on the city this morning, resulting in five dead and nine injured.

He added that the attack damaged ten private houses, a commercial facility, and the consular office of the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Latvia, calling on residents to evacuate the city near the front lines.

In the capital Kyiv, several explosions rang out this morning after authorities issued a warning of a Russian ballistic missile attack.

Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, called on residents to head to shelters, confirming that air defense systems had been put on alert to deal with airborne threats.

The Russian-Ukrainian war is witnessing continuous escalation in mutual attacks, as Ukraine has intensified its long-range strikes on targets inside Russian territory in recent months, while Russia continues to launch missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, foremost among them the capital Kyiv.