Russian strikes killed at least eight people in Kyiv overnight, including seven at a railway depot, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday, as Moscow pressed its air campaign on the Ukrainian capital and surrounding areas.
The strikes came as children were set to return to school after summer holidays and as authorities tightened security measures following weeks of intensified Russian attacks on the capital.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said eight people were killed and five wounded, including two children, in the overnight bombardment, which included ballistic missiles and drones.
Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, chief executive of Ukrainian Railways, said a missile hit a railway depot and other railway facilities in Kyiv.
"The ballistic strike took the lives of 7 people, 6 of whom were our employees," he said, adding that another railway worker had been hospitalised.
Pertsovskyi said the attack caused "extensive destruction", including the complete destruction of a workshop, while fires continued to burn at some sites.
One person was killed in strikes in Boryspil, east of Kyiv, regional officials said.
Russia's defence ministry said its forces had carried out a "massive strike" using long-range weapons and attack drones. It said the attack targeted military-industrial and fuel and energy facilities in Kyiv and the surrounding region. The ministry also said it had struck infrastructure in the southern Odesa region and the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk.
"Kyiv region came under a massive attack by Russian missiles and strike drones tonight," Kyiv regional military administration chief Tymur Tkachenko said on Telegram.
AFP journalists in the capital heard around a dozen loud explosions and saw flashes in sky early Tuesday moments after the air force warned of incoming ballistic missiles.
The Ukrainian air force had warned that the threat of "ballistic weapons and other means of attack against Kyiv and the region remains in effect", and urged residents to remain in shelter.
Escalation in the south
A Russian attack cut power to a large part of Ukraine's southern Black Sea region of Odesa, while strikes on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv entered their seventh day, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Russian air attacks killed 12 people in the region, officials said.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram on Wednesday seven people were injured and a six-storey residential building was partially destroyed after a drone strike, while a nearby three-storey building was ablaze.
The strikes also damaged a medical facility, and caused a fire on the premises of an educational establishment, the city's authorities said.
A column of black smoke rose from a neighbourhood near the national university building and Reuters witnesses had earlier reported at least three large explosions in the centre of the city.
In Kyiv region, two people were injured and warehouses and private buildings were damaged, Governor Tymur Tkachenko said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Moscow's forces were preparing to launch massive strikes against energy infrastructure.
Russia carried out a "massive" missile and drone attack on energy infrastructure in the Odesa region overnight, transmission system operator Ukrenergo said on Wednesday.
Ukraine's energy ministry said that a large number of consumers have been left without power in the region, while also reporting power cuts in four other regions.
Eight people, including a child, were injured in the city of Odesa, Ukraine's largest seaport, said Serhiy Lysak, the head of the city's military administration.
A 24-storey apartment building was damaged, he said, adding that flats on several floors have been destroyed. Office buildings and two educational facilities were also damaged, Lysak said.