KYIV: The number of COVID-19 cases in Ukraine has exceeded 1.5 million with 29,253 deaths, Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said on Thursday.

Ukraine has faced a sharp jump in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, which Prime Minister Denys Shmygal called a "third wave" of the pandemic.

On Wednesday, Ukraine registered a record daily high of 289 coronavirus-related deaths and the death toll remained at a high level of 267 on Thursday, Stepanov said on Facebook.

He said the number of hospitalised Ukrainians remained at a high level - 4,376 were admitted to hospitals in the past 24 hours, down from a record 4,887 the day before.

The surge in new infections and deaths has forced the prime minister to urge regional authorities to impose stronger restrictions to contain the disease.