Explosions rang out over the Ukrainian capital on Monday and AFP journalists witnessed air defence batteries fending off a barrage of Russian projectiles during a rare daytime attack on Kyiv.
Russian forces have stepped up long-range drone and missile attacks over recent months, mainly targeting energy facilities.
The barrage comes as US-led efforts to bring Kyiv and Moscow to the negotiating table appear to have been derailed by the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Read moreRussia is wrong to think Iran war will offer respite on Ukraine, Macron says
“Drone debris has fallen in the very centre of the capital city. There are no fires or casualties. The enemy attack on Kyiv continues,” Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko wrote on social media, as more explosions echoed over the city.
AFP journalists saw flashes and clouds of smoke, as residents of the capital sought cover during rush hour.
The Ukrainian air force meanwhile warned of a “high-speed target” aimed at Kyiv coming from the north of the country, which borders Russia.
In Russia, an oil depot in southern Krasnodar region caught fire after a drone attack, local authorities reported on Monday.
There were no injuries at the depot in the town of Labinsk, the authorities said.
The region is regularly the target for Ukrainian drone attacks. Last week Kyiv struck an oil facility near the town of Tikhoretsk, the Afipsky oil refinery and Port Kavkaz.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
