At least 12 people killed, dozens wounded in Russian attacks on Ukraine

Russia launched 656 drones and 73 missiles at Ukraine overnight, according to Ukraine’s air force.

Ukrainian authorities say at least 18 people have been killed and dozens wounded in Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine, days after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Moscow was preparing for a major offensive.

Russia launched 656 drones and 73 missiles at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine’s air force said on Tuesday.

It said the main targets were the capital city of Kyiv, the central city of Dnipro, and the eastern cities of Poltava, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian air defence destroyed and suppressed 40 missiles and 602 drones.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said six people were killed in the Ukrainian capital and at least 66 others, including two children, were wounded in the “mass enemy attack”.

“Explosions in the city. Air defence forces are working! Stay in shelters!” Klitschko had warned earlier.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine, at least 12 people were killed and 36 others, including children, were wounded in Russian attacks, Governor Oleksandr Ganzha said.

Fifteen people, including a child, were wounded in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine said the government had warned Ukrainians about a potential large-scale Russian attack, and many had been sheltering in place.

“Subways and shelters were packed to the brim” from Monday night until about 7am (04:00 GMT) on Tuesday, she said.

While many people were expecting this attack, there was nonetheless “a lot of fear here in the capital over the past several days”, in anticipation of it, MacAlpine said.

This Russian attack marked the “second massive attack on the capital” over the past 10 days, she said.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said the attacks across the country were a sign of Russian desperation, because President Vladimir Putin was bombing civilians since his forces were struggling on the battlefield.

“Putin is a war criminal and loser who has no cards except terror. Moscow is losing on the battlefield. No number of missiles can change this,” Sybiga said in a social media statement.

Zelenskyy used the attack to make a fresh appeal for military support from the United States.

“Europe needs its own anti-ballistic defence so that this war can finally be brought to an end. And assistance from the United States in supplying missiles for Patriot systems is absolutely necessary,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.

Russia’s military said the bombardment targeted Ukraine’