The death toll from overnight Russian attacks on Ukraine continued to rise on Thursday morning, with officials saying at least 10 people had been killed in the capital Kiev.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 10 bodies had been recovered from the rubble. At least 56 people were injured, including two children, military governor Tymur Tkachenko said.
Kiev was the main target of the overnight attacks. According to Ukrainian officials, Russia used combat drones, cruise missiles and other missiles in the assault.
Several residential buildings were destroyed, and rescue workers were continuing to search the rubble for more dead and injured.
The Kyiv Independent described the attack as one of the heaviest since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Residents in Kiev reportedly took shelter in metro stations, with many spending the night underground in tents.
After initial strikes on Wednesday evening, air raid sirens were triggered again in the early morning hours. The outlet reported that nearly a dozen Russian bombers were in the air, followed by what it described as extremely loud explosions that were audible even in deep underground shelters.
Air raid alerts and explosions were also reported in other parts of the country, including Zaporizhzhya and Pavlohrad in the south-east, as well as Sumy and Kharkiv in the north-east. Zaporizhzhya Governor Ivan Fedorov said in the morning that three people had been injured. Further information on possible damage or casualties in the other cities was not immediately available.
Zelensky warned of major attack
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned on Wednesday of an imminent large-scale attack on Ukraine. Speaking at a press conference in Dublin during a visit marking Ireland's takeover of the rotating EU presidency, Zelensky said Russia carried out massive attacks with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles every one to two weeks.
"Today there is unpleasant information about the next preparation for such a massive Russian attack," Zelensky said.
He said he would return to Ukraine immediately after the press conference and urged people in his country to heed air raid warnings and seek shelter.
