Four killed in strike on central Kyiv, Ukraine says

Four people have been killed in a Russian air strike on Kyiv overnight, local officials say.

A previous air raid had only just ended when another was activated at 06:00 local time (04:00 GMT), with authorities warning of a ballistic missile threat and urging residents to head for shelter.

Windows were shattered in the central Shevchenkivskyi district, including at a metro station, and a fire broke out in a non-residential building, the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said. It is not clear what was targeted.

Videos posted online showed a car in flames and water rushing down a flooded street.

Air defences were in operation around the Ukrainian capital, Klitschko added.

It is the second fatal attack on Kyiv this month, following a strike on the city on New Year's Day that left two people dead.

Meanwhile, in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, the local authorities say six people were wounded in a Russian strike on Saturday. One woman is said to be in a serious condition.

These strikes are the latest in the war that began following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

They follow several Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory earlier in the week.

On Tuesday, ammunition depots and chemical plants were hit across multiple regions of Russia, some of which were hundreds of kilometres from the border, according to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces.

Sources in Ukraine's SBU intelligence agency told the BBC the attack on Tuesday had been a "painful blow" to Russia's ability to wage war.

At the time, Russia said it had shot down US-supplied long-range Atacms missiles as well as UK-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles, and vowed to respond to the attack.