Russia launches 'massive' attack on Kyiv with 2 children killed - 'everything destroyed'

Russia has launched another massive aerial attack on Ukraine with a deadly combination of missiles and drones. The attacks on Kyiv have killed at least eight people, including a 14-year-old girl and another child.

The city's mayor Vitali Klitschko said 38 people were injured during the intense bombardment. Munitions rained down on 20 districts of the country's capital, with the night's sky illuminated by multiple explosions. Ukrainian officials had earlier warned of a "massive attack" on the way. It was the first major combined Russian mass drone and missile strike on Kyiv since Donald Trump met with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on 15 August. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack showed Russia was not interested in a peace settlement in Ukraine.

“These Russian missiles and attack drones today are a clear response to everyone in the world who, for weeks and months, has been calling for a ceasefire and for real diplomacy,” he said in a post on X.

“Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table.”

He called for further sanctions against Russia and said: “We expect a reaction from China to what is going on. China has repeatedly called for not expanding the war and for a ceasefire.”

His comments came hours after Beijing said the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, would be among the leaders attending a military parade with President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week.

A five-storey building in the Darnytskyi district took a direct hit, causing extensive damage.

Tymur Tkachenko - the head of Kyiv’s military administration - said: “Everything is destroyed.”

A strike in central Kyiv also left a major road strewn with shattered glass.

People took refuge from the horrific onslaught in metro stations, many lying in sleeping bags and others holding pets.