Ukraine struck by second major missile attack in three days

One person killed and eight wounded in barrage on New Year's Eve

Russia carried out a second round of missile attacks on Ukraine in three days on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said, with explosions reported across the country.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least one person was killed and eight were wounded after a series of explosions in the capital.

He said one of the wounded was a Japanese journalist who had been taken to hospital.

A hotel to the south of Kyiv city centre was hit and a residential building in another district was damaged, according to the city administration.

Oleksiy Kuleba, governor of Kyiv region, warned shortly before of a possible missile attack and said air defences prepared to respond.

“The terrorist country launched several waves of missiles. They are wishing us a happy New Year. But we will persevere,” Mr Kuleba wrote on Telegram in a post after explosions shook the capital.

Other cities across Ukraine also came under fire. In the southern region of Mykolaiv, governor Vitaliy Kim said on television that six people had been wounded.

In a separate post on Telegram, Mr Kim claimed Russia had targeted civilians with the strikes, which Moscow has always denied.

“According to today's tendencies, the occupiers are striking not just critical [infrastructure] … in many cities [they are targeting] simply residential areas, hotels, garages, roads,” Mr Kim said.

In the western city of Khmelnytskyi, two people were wounded in a drone attack, Ukrainian presidential aide Kyrylo Tymoshenko said.

The official also reported a strike in the southern industrial city of Zaporizhzhia, which Mr Tymoshenko said had damaged residential buildings.

“With each new missile attack on civilian infrastructure, more Ukrainians are convinced of the need to fight until the complete collapse of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's regime,” Ukraine's Defence Ministry wrote on Telegram.