Russia pounds Kyiv with missiles, killing at least nine

Russia pounded Ukraine's capital Kyiv with ballistic missiles on Saturday, killing at least nine people and wounding 28 others, including four children, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

More than a dozen explosions reverberated through the city, according to Reuters witnesses.

Russia has stepped up attacks on the capital in recent months, while Ukraine is chronically short of air defences capable of downing ballistic missiles, which travel at several times the speed of sound.

This is the second major attack on Kyiv this week. The strikes came two days after a suspected Russian cruise missile landed in Poland during a large attack on Ukraine. The attack on Thursday killed nine people, including six members of one family in a village near Kryvyi Rih.

In Kyiv, fires broke out across the city and power outages were reported in some areas.

Klitschko said a residential building in Shevchenkivskyi district was partially destroyed, trapping people inside. The first and second floors of the damaged building had partially collapsed, he said.

Some warehouses were also on fire, he said.