KYIV - Russian bombardments killed at least 13 people and wounded dozens in Ukraine’s capital and its surrounding region overnight, authorities said on Thursday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urging a global response to Moscow's "escalation" of the four-year war.
The foes have ramped up long-range attacks in recent months, driving up the civilian death toll on both sides in the four-and-a-half-year war.
The massive missile attack on Kyiv struck residential areas and warehouses, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram Thursday.
A medical facility and an educational institution were also damaged, according to the city’s military administration.
Klitschko later said the death toll in the capital had risen to eight and that 33 people had been wounded.
The country has repeatedly appealed to its allies for additional support as Russia steps up its strikes -- firing a record number of missiles in July, according to AFP analysis of Ukrainian air force data.
"Unfortunately, while Moscow is investing in ballistic missiles and escalation, the world does not always respond appropriately to such attacks," Zelensky said.
Zelensky said the death toll stood at 12 people killed in the capital itself, and one in the surrounding region.
- 'Massive attack' -The attack also damaged warehouses in Boryspil, outside Kyiv, including a facility operated by the Ukrainian Red Cross, Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky said.
The attack lasted nine hours in the capital, which had been bracing for a strike for a few days.
"It was a massive attack -- the Russians prepared for a long time and combined various types of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones," Zelensky said.
Russia launched at least 44 missiles, of which 39 were shot down, according to the air force.
Moscow said it hit "military-industrial facilities, a transportation and logistics centre, and warehouses" in Kyiv and its region.
An attack in the Brovary district of the broader Kyiv region killed one man and wounded another, Kyiv regional governor Tymur Tkachenko said.
- Poland, Romania on alert -
The attacks also prompted security responses in neighbouring NATO member states.
Poland's military command said it had mobilised aircraft and activated air defences aimed at protecting its airspace, particularly in areas bordering Ukraine.
Romania's defence ministry said radar systems detected aerial targets near the Ukrainian border overnight, prompting the scrambling of two Spanish fighter jets deployed on NATO missions and a Romanian air force helicopter.
The ministry said a drone entered Romanian airspace near Galati before crashing in an unpopulated area in the country of Tulcea.
Aerial incursions into NATO member countries have become increasingly common in recent months.
Russia also reported downing 726 Ukrainian drones fired overnight.
While Kyiv has faced near-nightly attacks, Ukraine has also escalated its retaliatory strikes on Russia in recent months, in part to try to pressure Moscow into coming to the negotiating table to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.
Diplomatic efforts have failed to move the two sides towards a deal, with Russia demanding sweeping territorial and political concessions from Kyiv. Zelensky has ruled out agreeing to those terms, viewing it as an effective capitulation that would leave his country dangerously exposed to another Russian attack.
