Russian strikes on Kiev have killed two people and wounded at least five others, including a child, Ukrainian emergency services said on Thursday, after explosions rocked the capital shortly after midnight.
The attack is the latest in Russia's near-daily bombardment of Ukrainian cities, as Moscow presses its offensive, which is now in its fifth year.
AFP journalists in Kiev heard a series of explosions after a Ukrainian air force alert reported the approach of several ballistic missiles.
There were a number of bright flashes in the sky over Ukraine's capital, followed by half a dozen detonations, they said. "Two people have been killed in Kiev as a result of an enemy attack," Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram on Thursday.
Ukraine's state emergency service said five people were wounded and that the Sviatoshynskyi and Darnytskyi districts were hit.
Mayor Klitschko wrote on social media earlier that a warehouse was hit while "missile debris fell on non-residential buildings". At the same time, Kharkiv, the main city in northeast Ukraine, was hit by combat drones, its mayor said.
The attack came a few hours after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited to boost defence ties.
Military, industrial facilities
Russia's defence ministry later said it had struck military and industrial facilities in Kiev involved in the production and storage of medium- and long-range drones.
It also said it had targeted infrastructure at the ports of Odesa and Pivdennyi used to receive, store and handle military cargo and fuel supplies.
A maritime vessel and a high-speed boat belonging to the Ukrainian armed forces were also hit while en route to ports in the Odesa region, according to the ministry.
Both Moscow and Kiev have stepped up attacks on key economic targets in recent months.
Ukrainian forces have targeted Russian energy infrastructure, including oil facilities, while Russia has intensified strikes on Black Sea ports.
Shortage of missiles
Russian ballistic missiles have regularly targeted Kiev since last month. The weapons are fast and difficult to intercept, with missiles often fired in successive salvos during bombardments.
Ukraine has faced a shortage of PAC-3 missiles for its US-designed Patriot air defence systems, which are considered essential for intercepting ballistic missiles.
US President Donald Trump said last week he intended to authorise Ukraine to produce missiles for Patriot defence systems.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that production could begin by the end of this year to strengthen the country's defences against Russian ballistic strikes.
