Russia launches one of its biggest strikes on Ukraine, killing at least 11

A missile attack on Ukraine's capital Kyiv killed two people on Wednesday, the mayor said, after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of "massive strikes" heading towards the city.

The capital has come under increased attack in recent weeks as winter approaches, with air raid sirens wailing nearly constantly to warn of incoming Russian strikes.

Read moreMacron slams Russia’s ‘irresponsible’ strikes on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure

Residents hunkered down in subway stations early on Wednesday, hauling duffel bags, sleeping mats and blankets, after the military issued alerts for Kyiv and other parts of the country.

"We grabbed our things and came here, we live right next door," Iryna Rybalchenko, who works in a bank, told AFP, sitting on the platform wrapped in a dark hoodie and surrounded by bags.

"The whole of Kyiv is in a state of fear. We were stuck at work today and everyone – our group chats, our bosses – were messaging us to be careful."

The Russian attacks have targeted energy infrastructure and rail and road transport, including the bridges that connect the metropolis sprawled along both sides of the Dnipro river.  

'Tearing Kyiv apart' 

Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people died in a fire in the densely populated Darnytskyi neighbourhood as a result of Wednesday's attack.

"Two people were rescued while the fire was being extinguished," he wrote on Telegram.

"The bodies of two people who had been killed were found."

Zelensky had warned residents to monitor for air raid sirens, saying in his nightly address that "there is updated intelligence information regarding the preparation by the Russians of a massive strike".

He insisted the military was "ready to respond, to the extent that our defence systems allow".

Soon after Zelensky's address, scheduled power cuts plunged parts of Kyiv into darkness to ease the pressure on the battered grid.

The Ukrainian air force warned that a ballistic missile was heading for Kyiv.

Military monitoring channels also said they expected a large-scale Russian attack, combining cruise and ballistic missiles with fast-moving jet-powered drones.

"The children were absolutely terrified. Whenever there's heavy shelling, we try to head underground," Daria Medvedeva, 36, said. 

An AFP journalist in Kyiv heard a series of explosions ring out in the early hours of Wednesday.

In the northeastern region of Sumy Oblast, Russian drone attacks killed two men and wounded scores of people, the National Police of Ukraine said.

It said the wounded included three children aged seven, 14 and 16, who were hurt when an apartment was hit.

Kyiv's mayor warned last week the capital should now be on a war footing as the enemy was "tearing Kyiv apart" with strikes on bridges and energy infrastructure. 

Ukraine's military had also warned a ballistic missile was heading to Zaporizhzhia in the southeast, where authorities said an attack damaged transport infrastructure.