Several people have been killed in Ukraine's Chernihiv region, north of Kyiv, after the village of Desna was struck by Russian missiles on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. 

Addressing the nation in his nightly video address, President Zelensky called the missile strikes a "terrible blow" for Desna, which is located about 40 miles from the border with Belarus. 

"There is an analysis of debris, many dead,” Mr Zelensky said. 

"(There are) constant strikes on the Odesa region, on the cities of central Ukraine, the Donbas is completely destroyed — all this has no and cannot have any military explanation for Russia."

The Ukrainian President claimed the strikes were a "deliberate and criminal attempt to kill as many Ukrainians as possible". 

Mr Zelensky said Ukrainian troops continued their mission to liberate the Kharkiv region. 

"In Donbas, the occupiers are trying to increase pressure," he said.

"There's hell, and that's not an exaggeration. The brutal and absolutely pointless bombing of Severodonetsk... 12 dead and dozens wounded in just one day.

"The bombing and shelling of other cities, the air and missile strikes of the Russian army - all this is not just hostilities during the war."