(Reuters) - Russian forces launched a mass overnight drone attack on residential areas of Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa, triggering fires and damaging many apartments, local officials said early on Tuesday.

"The enemy targeted a residential area in a densely populated district of Odesa," Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

He posted pictures of a fire blazing out of control and apartment buildings with windows smashed and facades damaged.

Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said the attack damaged dwellings, civilian infrastructure, an educational institution and vehicles.

Emergency crews had been dispatched to the affected areas and information on casualties was being clarified, Kiper said.

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Odesa, with its three ports, has been a frequent target of Russian attacks in the more than three-year-old conflict with Russia.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

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