Deadly Russian barrage pounds Ukraine capital

Russian missile and drone strikes rocked Kyiv early Thursday, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens, after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow was preparing a "massive attack".

Russia has routinely launched waves of missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, during its more than four-year invasion, which has become Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

The attack came after Ukraine's air force warned that ballistic missiles were headed towards the capital and followed Zelensky cutting short a visit to Dublin Wednesday, citing intelligence reports of an impending Russian strike.

AFP journalists in central and eastern Kyiv heard more than a dozen explosions and saw residents -- some with children and pets -- rushing to shelter in metro stations.

The strikes killed eight people and wounded at least 25, including children, the head of the city's military administration Tymur Tkachenko said, decrying the deliberate targeting of civilians and residential areas.

Five districts of the wider Kyiv region were struck in the attack, according to regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk.

"During the night, the enemy once again launched a massive attack on the Kyiv region using strike drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles," Kalashnyk said on Telegram.

He said emergency crews were battling fires at warehouses and a house in the Bucha district, while the attacks damaged homes, a student dormitory and vehicles elsewhere in the region.

Hours earlier, an AFP reporter witnessed an explosion in central Kyiv during an air-raid alert, followed by a cloud of smoke and flames. Firefighters and ambulances were at the scene.

A second blast erupted around 50 minutes later near the initial impact site, sending debris into the air.

Images released by Ukrainian emergency services after daybreak showed extensive damage to a residential block, with a chunk of a building missing.

Some residents described the difficulties of spending the night in shelters.

"It's hard. My child is used to sleeping in complete silence and darkness," 32-year-old doctor Kateryna Kucheryava told AFP.

"I picked her up and carried her down. She woke up and now she's not sleeping anymore. We're trying to get her back to sleep, but she keeps getting distracted. It's bright here, dogs are barking, other children are around."