(Reuters) -A Russian missile attack on Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region on Thursday hit a railway station, injuring at least seven people, a local official said.

Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said the attack hit the city of Balakliia, which was occupied by Russia at the start of its full-scale invasion and taken back by Ukraine months later in the autumn of 2022.

"The injured were in the passenger train carriages," he said on Telegram messenger.

Kharkiv, which lies about 30 km (18 miles) from the border with Russia, and the surrounding region have long been targeted by Russian attacks but the strikes have become more intense in recent weeks, hitting civilian and energy infrastructure.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa, Editing by Timothy Heritage)