Russia has launched a ballistic missile attack on Kiev, with explosions heard across the Ukrainian capital hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Moscow was likely to carry out a large-scale overnight strike.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Russia was attacking the capital with ballistic missiles and urged residents to seek shelter.
"The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic weapons. The threat of further attack remains present. Stay in shelters!" Klitschko said.
Klitschko later said several non-residential sites had caught fire.
Late on Wednesday, Zelenskyy warned that Russia had prepared a major attack.
"The Russians prepared a massive attack several days ago, and there is a high probability that the strike will be carried out tonight," he said in a post on X.
"Please, in all regions of Ukraine, pay attention to air raid alerts today and stay safe."
Calls for air defence interceptors
Zelenskyy also renewed his appeal for Ukraine's allies to provide additional missiles for the country's air defence systems.
He said he discussed Ukraine's air defence needs with US President Donald Trump during talks at the White House on Tuesday, including the possibility of Ukraine producing Patriot interceptor missiles under licence.
Earlier in July, Trump expressed support for allowing Ukraine to manufacture the surface-to-air missiles as Russia intensified its ballistic missile attacks.
According to Zelenskyy, only US-made Patriot systems are capable of intercepting Russia's ballistic missiles, but Ukraine faces a critical shortage of PAC-3 interceptor missiles.
He said the shortage has worsened since the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran in February.
