Chernihiv

On the Ukrainian side, relatives of prisoners of war and the missing gathered in the Chernihiv region, close to the border with Belarus, to greet the released prisoners and, in many cases, seek news of others still in captivity.

The buffer zones would be created to provide "additional support" to areas in Russia which border Ukraine's Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv regions, Putin said.

Drones were intercepted in at least 13 regions including Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Mykolayiv and Odesa, according to Ukrainian authorities.

"I recognised him by his underwear," his distraught mother told local broadcaster Suspilne Chernihiv.

Regional officials said three more people were injured in strikes on Kherson region, and one each in Zaporizhzhya and Chernihiv regions.