Russian missile and drone strikes hit Kiev early on Thursday, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Moscow was preparing a "massive attack".
Russia's Defence Ministry said it had launched a "massive strike" on Kiev "in response to the Kiev regime's terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure".
Russia used 74 missiles and 496 drones during the night raid, Ukraine’s Air Force say.
The attack came after Ukraine's air force warned that ballistic missiles were headed towards the capital and Zelenskyy cut short a visit to Dublin on Wednesday, citing intelligence reports of an impending Russian strike.
AFP journalists in central and eastern Kiev heard more than a dozen explosions and saw residents, some carrying children and pets, rushing to shelter in metro stations.
Ukraine's State Emergency Service said the strikes killed thirteen people and wounded 34.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kiev’s military administration, accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians and residential areas.
Homes and a student dormitory was damaged
According to regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk, five districts in the wider Kiev region were hit.
"During the night, the enemy once again launched a massive attack on the Kiev region using strike drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles," Kalashnyk said on Telegram.
He said emergency crews were battling fires at warehouses and a house in the Bucha district, while homes, a student dormitory and vehicles were damaged elsewhere in the region.
Hours earlier, an AFP reporter witnessed an explosion in central Kiev during an air raid alert, followed by smoke and flames. Firefighters and ambulances were deployed to the scene.
A second blast occurred around 50 minutes later near the initial impact site, sending debris into the air.
Images released by Ukrainian emergency services at daybreak showed extensive damage to a residential building, with a large section torn away.
Some residents described the difficulties of spending the night in shelters.
"It's hard. My child is used to sleeping in complete silence and darkness," 32-year-old doctor Kateryna Kucheryava told AFP.
"I picked her up and carried her down. She woke up and now she's not sleeping anymore. We're trying to get her back to sleep, but she keeps getting distracted."
Zelenskyy warns of further attacks
Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that he was returning from Dublin early because of intelligence reports indicating that Russia was preparing a major strike.
"I urge our people to be especially careful, to protect themselves, their children and, of course, their families; to use shelters and heed air raid alerts in Ukraine," he said.
Zelenskyy also said Russian President Vladimir Putin had been preparing the attack for some time.
Ukraine has also intensified long-range drone attacks inside Russia in recent weeks, targeting energy infrastructure and military sites.
Russian officials have reported repeated strikes in border regions, while Moscow says its air defences have intercepted hundreds of Ukrainian drones in recent days.
Russia's offensive in Ukraine has caused more than two million military casualties, according to a study published on Wednesday by the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which said Russian forces had borne the brunt of the losses.
US-led efforts to broker an end to the conflict have so far failed.
"Russia's head is completely refusing to end the war," Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Wednesday.
He added that although Ukraine had conveyed through various official and unofficial channels that it was ready for negotiations, Moscow continued to pursue further aggression.
