Photo taken on Feb. 27, 2022 shows smoke rising in the sky in Kiev, Ukraine. (Xinhua/Lu Jinbo)

KIEV, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine has regained control of the "whole Kiev region," Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar said on Facebook on Saturday.

Ukraine has retaken "Irpin, Bucha, Gostomel and the whole Kiev region," said Maliar.

The Russian military continues to carry out systematic missile and aviation strikes on targets in Ukraine, but the intensity has decreased, said the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Additional units of the Russian military are preparing to participate in combat in Ukraine, it added.