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.

A building burned from a strike as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Bakhmut. Reuters

Antonina, a refugee from Bakhmut in Donetsk region, with dogs she rescued in Izyum, Kharkiv. AFP

A resident gives her neighbours hot food brought by volunteers in Izyum. AFP

A Ukrainian soldier salutes as he works to build a bunker with sand in Bakhmut. Reuters

Volodymyr Kovalov, 77, carries tree branches attached to his bike as he collects wood for heating and cooking in Kherson region. AFP

A local resident takes pictures of a destroyed monastery in Dolyna, eastern Ukraine. AFP

A decoy dummy made with the clothes of a Russian soldier at the entrance of a destroyed cinema in Kamyanka, eastern Ukraine. AFP

Destroyed houses in the city of Kamyanka. AFP

Caesar, 50, a Russian who joined the Freedom of Russia Legion to fight on the side of Ukraine, stands in front of a destroyed monastery in Dolyna. AFP

An employee stands next to a shelter at a stainless pipes plant in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region. AFP

Ivan and Iryna Kalinin before the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Iryna, who was pregnant, was killed in a Russian air strike on Mariupol's maternity hospital. Ivan returned to the occupied city to rebury his wife and baby. AP

Natalia, 67, sits inside her house that was damaged in a Russian military strike, in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. Reuters

Ukrainian soldiers ride in a military vehicle in Bakhmut, a city in the Donetsk enclave. AP

Smoke billows from a building on fire after a Russian attack in Bakhmut. AP

Sasha and her grandfather stand outside their home in Bakhmut. AP

Ukrainian soldiers set up a barricade in Bakhmut. AP

Nastya carries her cat as her mother Anna says goodbye to neighbours with whom they lived for months in a basement during Russian attacks in Soledar, a city in the Donetsk enclave of Ukraine. AP

Anna and Nastya in the basement during a Russian attack nearby. AP

A Ukrainian soldier is wheeled on a stretcher at a hospital in the Donetsk enclave. AP

A woman looks a building damaged by Russian shelling in Kherson. AFP

Oleksandra Koshkina, 85, sits in a car as she returns to her village of Torske, in the Donetsk enclave. Reuters

A resident of Bakhmut walks along an empty street. Reuters

A street market in Bakhmut. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier poses for a picture in the Donetsk enclave. Reuters

Officials tend to a patient on a plane carrying Ukrainian Jewish refugees as they wait to disembark at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. AFP

“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.