Zelensky says Kyiv struck Russian ammo depots

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said Kyiv had struck two weapons depots in southern and western Russia -- including a key site for Moscow's forces -- with Russian authorities announcing some evacuations and declaring a local emergency situation.

Kyiv also said Russian attacks on Zelensky's hometown of Kryvyi Rig had killed a 12-year-old boy and two women in their 70s.

A 12-year-old girl and a woman in her 20s also died in a strike on the city of Nikopol.

The attacks came ahead of an upcoming trip by Zelensky to the United States, where he is due to present his plans on how to end the nearly 31-month-long war.

"We have another arsenal in Russia, and it was a significant arsenal for the enemy," Zelensky said in a daily evening address.

"These were caches of Russian tactical missiles and guided bombs -- everything that Russia uses to terrorise our cities and our positions," he added.

Kyiv's army said it had hit an arms depot near the city of Tikhoretsk in the southern Krasnodar region, calling it one of Moscow's "three largest ammunition storage bases" important to the Russian logistics for its Ukraine invasion.

It also said it struck an arsenal in the western Tver region.

"I want to emphasise that we are doing this with our capabilities, with our weapons," Zelensky said.

"Without the means that our partners can provide, which can significantly accelerate the end of this war by destroying Russia's offensive potential."

During his upcoming trip to the United States, Zelensky is expected to make a last-ditch attempt at convincing Washington to let Kyiv strike targets inside Russia with long-range weapons delivered by the West.

- Evacuations -

Authorities in Tver and Krasnodar said they had been attacked but Russia did not say exactly what was struck.

Krasnodar governor Vieniamin Kondratyev announced the evacuation of 1,200 villagers, saying a drone attack caused a fire that "spread to explosive objects" near Tikhoretsk.

He later said a state of "local emergency" was introduced in Tikhoretsk -- a city of 50,000 people -- in the southern region.

Authorities said villagers had been evacuated, with most staying with relatives, while others were hosted in temporary accommodation in Tikhoretsk.

Videos on social media showed a massive night-time explosion resembling fireworks at first before blowing up loudly.

Footage online later showed sirens ringing around Tikhoretsk in daylight, with smoke rising in the distance.

Authorities published footage of villagers -- mostly elderly people -- arriving at a room with set-up beds, as well as volunteers greeting evacuees getting off a bus.

The local government said they are being provided with medical and psychological assistance.

The Krasnodar region is separated from occupied Ukraine by the Sea of Azov and has been relatively spared from the type of attacks seen on Russian border or other southern regions.

But over the last year it has seen increased assaults.

In the western Tver region, authorities announced the temporary closure of a major federal road after the Ukrainian attack near the city of Toropets.

- Boy killed in Kryvyi Rig -

In the central Dnipropetrovsk region, authorities said five people -- including two children -- had been killed in Russian attacks on Saturday.

Meanwhile, in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig, officials said Russia had struck "private houses" at night, releasing images of brick houses razed to the ground.

"The boy killed by Russians in Kryvyi Rig was 12-years-old," the head of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Sergiy Lisak, said on Telegram.

"The missile strike also ended the lives of two women, aged 75 and 79," he added.

Lisak later announced that a strike on the city of Nikopol -- on the Dnipro River in the same region -- had killed a 12-year-old girl and a 25-year-old woman.

A four-year-old girl was also wounded in the attack and was in "serious condition", he added.

bur/ju/sbk