A "massive" Russian attack on Kyiv on Thursday killed at least 12 people, Ukrainian authorities said, with the head of the city's military administration Tymur Tkachenko saying that three children aged 2, 14 and 17 had been killed by the strikes.
Another 48 people were wounded in the attack, with the death toll expected to rise as more victims are found buried beneath the rubble.
Powerful explosions rocked the city overnight, illuminating the sky and leaving behind a column of smoke, AFP journalists saw.
The attack comes as Moscow and Kyiv trade blame over an impasse in diplomatic efforts towards a peace deal which have been spearheaded by US President Donald Trump.
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Around 100 people took refuge in a subway station, with some lying in sleeping bags and others holding their pets.
The city's mayor described Russia's latest strikes as a "massive attack" that caused damage in seven districts across the capital.
A five-storey building in the Darnytsky district had collapsed, the mayor reported.
Ukraine's air force said on Thursday that it downed 563 of 598 drones and 26 of 31 missiles launched by Russia in its overnight attack.
The air force recorded hits at 13 locations and falling of debris at 26 locations.
"Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table. It chooses to continue killing instead of ending the war," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media, calling for fresh sanctions from Ukraine's allies.
"This means that Russia still does not fear the consequences."
The attack also damaged the EU's diplomatic mission in the city.
Kyiv suffered one of its worst attacks of the over three-year war on July 31, leaving more than 30 people dead including five children.
Russian forces have been slowly but steadily gaining ground in Ukraine in recent months, as diplomatic efforts have accelerated.
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Trump held a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this month, followed by a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Zelensky and European allies.
But there has been little progress since then.
Before concluding any peace agreement, Ukraine wants security guarantees from the West to deter any future Russian attacks.
Moscow has cast Kyiv's demands as unrealistic and has raised particular objection to the notion of stationing Western peacekeeping troops in Ukraine.
Zelensky said on Wednesday that members of his administration would meet with US officials in New York on Friday.
The Ukrainian leader said he saw "very arrogant and negative signals from Moscow regarding the negotiations", urging extra "pressure" to "force Russia to take real steps".
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Thursday it shot down 102 Ukrainian drones overnight, mostly in the country’s southwest. A drone attack sparked a blaze at the Afipsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, local officials said, while a second fire was reported at the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in the Samara region.
Ukrainian drones have repeatedly struck refineries and other oil infrastructure in recent weeks in an attempt to weaken Russia's war economy, causing gas stations in some Russian regions to run dry and prices to spike.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
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