President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday said at least three people died after Russia launched a 'massive' aerial overnight strike on multiple Ukrainian cities.

In his X page, Zelenskyy said Russian launched 40 missiles – cruise and ballistic – and about 580 drones of various types on Ukraine.

He said the aerial strikes targeted  Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia regions, and communities in Poltava, Kyiv, Odesa, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions.

Zelenskyy wrote on X: "The enemy aimed at our infrastructure, residential areas, and civilian enterprises. In Dnipro, a missile with cluster munitions directly struck an apartment building."

Speaking on the casualty figure, he said: "As of now, we know of dozens of people injured from the shelling, and, unfortunately, 3 people killed. My condolences to their families and loved ones."

He said: "Every such strike is not a military necessity but a deliberate strategy by Russia to terrorize civilians and destroy our infrastructure. That is why a strong international response is needed."

Russia launched full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Ukrainian conflict has recorded the highest confirmed death and injury toll from cluster munitions for the third year running, UN-backed researchers said reecntly.

According to the latest Cluster Munitions Monitor, more than 1,200 people are known to have been killed or maimed in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The true figure is likely much higher, but it could be years before an accurate number is known, said Loren Persi, team lead for the Cluster Munition Monitor report.

Citing conflict in Syria and Yemen where it was clear that there were high numbers of casualties, “this only came out [years] later”, he told journalists in Geneva.