Russia fired 31 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kiev before dawn on Thursday in the first attack on the Ukrainian capital in 44 days, officials said. Air defense forces shot down all the incoming missiles, but 13 people, including children, were injured in the rubble, they said.
Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city administration, said Kiev residents were awakened by loud explosions in the early morning hours as missiles arrived from different directions at roughly the same time.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched two ballistic missiles and 29 cruise missiles toward the capital.
Kiev has better air defense than most parts of the large country. Russian attacks on the capital were much less successful than earlier in the war, as missile intercept rates were often high.
Kiev city authorities said an 11-year-old girl and a 38-year-old man were hospitalized. Eight other people also suffered minor injuries, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Ukraine's Emergency Services Agency said about 80 people had been evacuated from their homes.
Falling debris from the intercepted missile set at least one apartment building on fire, burned parked cars and created craters in streets and a small park. Some streets were littered with broken window glass and other debris.
The attack followed repeated recent Ukrainian airstrikes on Russia's Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border. Five people were injured in the latest attack in the Belgorod region on Thursday, causing damage to homes and a city sports stadium, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. The Russian Defense Ministry said it had stopped 10 rockets over the region.