Russian missile strikes hit Kyiv, two dead and six wounded

Two people have lost their lives, while six others have been wounded during a wave of Russian missile strikes in Kyiv, launched in the early morning hours.

About 20 powerful explosions were heard by AFP journalists. The Ukrainian air force announced that Russian ballistic missiles were heading towards the Kyiv and Chernigov regions.

“The capital is under ballistic missile attack. Stay in shelters!”, warned Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko on Telegram.

Shortly after 03:00, Klitschko announced that the attack had caused two fatalities and six wounded. Four of the wounded were in serious condition.

About an hour earlier, the mayor had announced that in an area of Dnipro there could be people trapped under rubble.

Reports of Russian attacks also came from Odesa, the strategic port city on the Black Sea, in southwestern Ukraine.

A day earlier, Russian airstrikes in Ukraine had taken at least seven lives, including two in Kyiv.

Kyiv, home to about 3 million inhabitants, continues to be targeted by Russian aerial attacks, mostly drone strikes. The intensification of strikes over the past 24 hours comes at a time when clashes between Russia and Ukraine have escalated.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on Wednesday at the UN Security Council that Moscow did not intend to ‘interrupt’ the war against Ukraine.