Kharkiv school hit by missiles - local authorities

STORY: School teacher Natalia Studentsova told Reuters she heard two powerful explosions at around 4 a.m. (01:00 GMT), but that she had hoped the school would not be affected.

City authorities said there were no casualties, though regional governor Oleh Synegubov said three civilians were killed in the past 24 hours in the Kharkiv region, which includes the city of Kharkiv and towns and villages around it.

Russian forces have been pounding the city for two weeks killing civilians, and hitting apartment buildings and schools, regional authorities said.

Russia renewed its shelling of Kharkiv and the surrounding countryside in what Kyiv says is a bid to force Ukraine to pull resources from the main battlefield in Donbas to protect civilians from attack.