Russia launched a missile and drone attack on Ukraine's capital Kiev overnight into Thursday, in what Moscow described as retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russian civil infrastructure.
Ukrainian officials said Russia's overnight attacks on Kiev killed at least 13 people and injured 86 others.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a Telegram post that 70 of the injured had been hospitalized.
The Kiev City Military Administration said the attacks caused damage at more than 30 locations across all districts of the capital.
Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko said more than 20 residential buildings were damaged, and rescue workers were searching for survivors across 15 locations in Kiev.
Ukraine's State Service for Emergencies said about 500 emergency responders and 96 units of equipment had been deployed at the strike sites as rescue operations continued.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Thursday that 51 locations across Ukraine were hit in the large-scale overnight attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Ukraine's air defense forces managed to intercept a significant number of targets, but not all of them.
He called for an urgent reinforcement of the country's air defense capabilities, with the support of international partners.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday that its armed forces carried out a massive retaliatory strike on military-industrial enterprises and fuel and energy infrastructure in Kiev and the surrounding region.
The strikes, conducted with long-range precision-guided weapons launched from air, land and sea, as well as attack drones, targeted facilities supporting Ukraine's military, the ministry said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during his daily briefing on Thursday that Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov briefed President Vladimir Putin on the results of the massive strike earlier on the day.
Peskov noted that only military or militarized targets were struck, adding that Putin is in contact with the Chief of the General Staff almost every day.
For days, Russia has been condemning Ukraine for striking its civil infrastructure, including oil refineries in Krasnodar and Yaroslavl regions.
Putin said on Sunday that Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure would not force Kremlin into negotiations.
Russia conducts retaliatory strikes on Kiev military targets
