Russian missile strikes injure 17 in central Ukrainian city

(Reuters) -Russian missile strikes on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih wounded 17 people, authorities said on Sunday, following an overnight attack on the country that included dozens of drones.

A police officer and rescue worker were among those injured in the strikes that damaged sites including an administrative building, a hotel and an educational facility, the National Police said on social media.

Regional governor Serhiy Lysak said in a later update that only 15 apartment buildings, stores, a cafe, a church, office spaces, a bank branch and a gas pipeline had been damaged in the city, which is President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's hometown.

Kyiv's military said Russia had fired two ballistic missiles, and also reported that Ukraine had shot down 31 out of 49 Russian drones across the country.

Around 10 drones were destroyed near the capital Kyiv, the city's military administration said on the Telegram messaging app. There were no reports of destruction or injuries, it added.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports.

Russia has denied targeting civilians in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, but has regularly fired missiles and drones at towns and cities far behind the front lines.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne and Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Rod Nickel, William Mallard and Barbara Lewis)