Sawt Falasteen - Deadly Russian barrage on Kyiv kills at least 13

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.

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.

In the morning, locals stood on the rubble of destroyed apartment blocks, ripped open by the barrage, as smoke poured over the Kyiv skyline.

Blasts started echoing out over the Ukrainian capital late Wednesday, lasting into the early hours of Thursday as Russian missiles and drones rained down on residential areas in the centre of the city.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 13 people had been killed, with 86 wounded.

Kyiv urged its allies to send more air defence.

"Do not delay decisions on air defense for Ukraine! This is our main request to our partners after Kyiv suffered a night of horror," Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media.

Russia fired 496 drones and 74 missiles -- including hard-to-intercept ballistic projectiles -- Ukraine's air force said.

It said it shot down 48 of the missiles and 476 drones.

The attack came hours after Zelensky cut short a visit to Dublin on Wednesday, citing intelligence reports of an impending Russian strike.

Locals packed into underground metro stations or hunkered in basements and corridors to protect from the barrage.

"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."

- 'Use shelters' -

Zelensky on Wednesday had urged citizens to take extra care ahead of the imminent Russian attack.

"I urge our people to be especially careful, to protect themselves, their children, and, of course, their families; to use shelters and heed air raid alerts in Ukraine -- this is very important," he told a news conference.

He said Russian President Vladimir Putin "has been preparing this massive strike against Ukraine for some time now".

Ukraine has also stepped up long-range drone attacks inside Russia in recent weeks, targeting energy infrastructure and military targets.

Russian officials have reported repeated strikes in border regions, while Moscow has said its air defences had intercepted hundreds of drones from Ukraine in recent days.

Russia's defence ministry confirmed on Thursday it had launched a "massive strike" on Kyiv in what it called a retaliation to the Ukrainian counter-attacks.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused more than two million military casualties, with Moscow's forces bearing the brunt of the losses, according to a study published Wednesday by US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

US efforts to broker an end to the conflict have so far failed.

"Russia's head is completely refusing to end the war," Zelensky said on Wednesday in a post on X.

"And although through all possible official and unofficial channels -- including through people close to him -- we have conveyed that the war can and must be ended, and that we in Ukraine are ready for meetings and meaningful negotiations, he sees only further aggression against Ukraine and against other neighbors and Europe as a whole," he added.

Y.Zaher--SF-PST