Star Metro - Russia strikes on Kyiv apartment blocks kill six, Ukraine says

Kyiv also said a Russian drone attack on a market in southern Ukraine hours later killed two more people.

It was one of the largest attacks on Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, hitting buildings in most of the capital's districts.

The attack also damaged Azerbaijan's embassy.

Baku said an Iskander-type missile had destroyed part of its compound and summoned Moscow's envoy.

In the east of the city, where rescue workers were clearing debris, AFP reporters saw multi-storey buildings with dozens of windows and balconies blown out, their facades charred.

"My hair caught fire and I started putting it out," said local resident Maria Kalchenko, outside one of the buildings.

She turned to look for her dog before a wall near her collapsed.

"The doors were blown out, flames everywhere, the fire spreading, the neighbours screaming," she told AFP.

Zelensky said the attack was specifically aimed to cause "terror".

"This was a deliberately calculated attack aimed at causing maximum harm to people and civilian infrastructure," he added.

A hospital, shops and offices were also damaged, and around 30 people were wounded, officials said.

- 'Contempt for humanity' -

Moscow has fired record missile and drone barrages at Ukraine in recent months, hitting energy and rail infrastructure.

It has also targeted residential areas, knocking out power for tens of thousands across the country as temperatures plunge.

Germany said Friday's attack showed a "contempt for humanity" from Moscow.

"It is very evident and clear that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin aims to make winter as unbearable as possible for Ukraine, to destroy morale and break the resistance of the Ukrainian people," German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said.

Overnight, AFP journalists saw Ukraine using tracer bullets and missile defence systems, and incandescent debris falling over large areas above the capital.

The explosions lit up the night sky in flashes of bright orange.

Ukraine's air force said it downed 405 out of 430 drones launched by Russia and 14 out of 19 missiles.

- 'More ballistic missiles' -

A senior Ukrainian official told AFP the city's air defences worked particularly well to stop the attack from wreaking even more damage.

There were previously "certain issues with air defence" but this time "the air defence systems worked well" they told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official also said the attack showed how "the Russians have started using significantly more ballistic missiles".

Ballistic missiles are particularly difficult to intercept given their speed and trajectory.

"They combine ballistic and aeroballistic missiles with waves of drones. It is not easy to shoot down," the official explained.

Russia's defence ministry said its forces carried out a "massive strike" of drones and hypersonic missiles against Ukrainian military and energy sites.

Moscow's troops are grinding forward on the eastern front and continue to reject calls to halt the invasion.

- Western pressure -

G7 foreign ministers meeting in Canada this week urged an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and voiced "unwavering" support for the country's territorial integrity.

Putin has demanded that Ukraine give up swathes more territory in the east if it wants an end to the war.

Hundreds of Russian troops have entered the eastern city of Pokrovsk, Ukraine has conceded, and could be on the brink of capturing it.

Ukraine has in turn stepped up its own retaliatory attacks on Russian oil and gas facilities deep behind the front, seeking to cut off Moscow's energy export revenues.

Zelensky said Ukraine had used long-range Neptune missiles overnight against targets on Russian territory.

Russia said Ukrainian drone debris hit its Novovoronezh nuclear power plant near the city of Voronezh on Thursday, briefly disconnecting it from power.

Russian forces downed more than 200 Ukrainian drones overnight into Friday, Moscow's defence ministry said, including 66 over the region of Krasnodar and 45 over Saratov, both in the south.

Russian officials reported a fire at a large Black Sea oil refinery and a hit on a civilian vessel that wounded three.

N.Fournier--SMC