Russia-Ukraine war: Russia fires more than 20 cruise missiles at Kyiv

Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities were rocked by explosions overnight and in the early hours of Friday while air raid sirens were reported throughout the country, officials said.

Russia fired more than 20 cruise missiles and two drones at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine killing at least eight and striking a residential building in central Ukraine.

Russia had regularly bombed Ukrainian cities and infrastructure last winter, but the volume of strikes had reduced in the recent months. The capital city had not been targeted by missiles in more than 50 days.

There were no immediate reports of any successful strikes in Kyiv but fragments from intercepted missiles or drones damaged power lines and a road in one neighborhood. No casualties were reported.

Just last week, Kyiv faced an attack by 12 Iranian-made drones, eight of which were shot down without causing any casualties.

Air defense systems are in operation in Kyiv, according to the city's military administration. Ukraine's air defence system has been bolstered in recent months by the delivery of Western equipment crucial to the country's war effort. Kyiv received the American-made Patriot missile defense systems in April. 

In Uman, around 215 kilometers (134 miles) south of Kyiv, two cruise missiles hit a nine-story residential building, killing at least six people and wounding 17, according to Ukrainian national police. Three children were rescued from the rubble, they said.

Two people were killed in the city of Dnipro, city mayor Borys Filatov said on the Telegram website, adding that the victims were a young woman and her 3-year-old child.