KYIV — Russia has attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, damaging residential buildings close to the city center.
In what appears to be a nationwide attack, strikes were also reported in Mykolaiv, Chernihiv and Zaporizhzhia, among other places.
In Kyiv, three buildings in the Pechersk district were hit, according to mayor Vitaliy Klitschko.
World leaders are currently at a meeting of the G20 in Indonesia where they have condemned the war on Ukraine.
The attacks were reported as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s representative at the talks, left Bali on a plane.
Several Russian missiles were successfully shot down in Kyiv and rescue teams are in place, Klitschko said.
Air raid alerts are in place across the country.
Vitaly Kimm, the mayor of Mykolayiv in the south, said Russian missiles had been launched in three waves.
In Chernihiv, in the north, Governor Vyacheslav Chaus warned people to take shelter, adding “the missile strike is continuing”.
Meanwhile, in the western city of Lviv, Mayor Andriy Sadovy said there had also been attacks, with power cuts as a result.
In the past week Moscow has withdrawn its troops from the southern city of Kherson — a major setback for Russia’s invasion.
When Russia has suffered losses on the ground during this war, it has routinely taken to the air to fight back.
In video shared by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, what looks like a block of flats can be seen on fire, with flames billowing from windows.
Andriy Yermak, a presidential adviser, said the strikes were Russia’s response to President Zelensky’s “powerful speech” to the G20 summit.
During the virtual speech, Zelensky addressed what he referred to as “G19” leaders — snubbing Moscow — and said he was “convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped”.
A draft declaration from the summit, seen by news agencies, said “most” countries agreed the war was exacerbating fragilities in the global economy.
Lavrov said the declaration had been “politicized” by Ukraine’s Western allies.
