Russian attacks wound over a dozen in Kyiv: authorities

Russia launched missiles and drones at Ukraine overnight, wounding more than a dozen people in Kyiv, the city's mayor said Thursday, the latest in a series of intensified Russian attacks.

The Ukrainian capital has seen a surge in Russian attacks, both during the day and at night, which its air defences have struggled to repel due to ammunition shortages.

In Kyiv, a dozen strong explosions sounded in the early hours of Thursday, AFP journalists heard, after authorities in the Ukrainian capital warned of a missile threat.

"There are already 18 wounded in Kyiv. The enemy continues to attack the capital," Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said in the morning.

Ukraine has repeatedly sought more support to fend off Russia's invasion, now in its fifth year.

US lawmakers approved broad new sanctions on Wednesday, which target Russia's energy and defense sectors, President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials, as well as Moscow's so-called shadow fleet of tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky said it was "symbolic" that the House of Representatives passed the legislation on a night of Russian attacks.

"Once again, civilian infrastructure was targeted, with damage reported in eight regions," he said.

The strikes wounded seven in the southern Odesa region, and three in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Russia has stepped up its bombardments of Ukrainian cities in recent months, with the United Nations reporting that the civilian death toll in 2026 has risen to its highest level since the first months of the war.