At least 10 killed in Russian missile strike on central Ukraine

Russia launched a "massive missile" attack overnight on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing and wounding people and damaging civilian infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said early on Tuesday.

"There are dead and wounded," Serhiy Lisak, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region where Kryvyi Rih is located, said on the Telegram messaging app. "A massive missile attack on Kryvyi Rih."

During the early hours of Tuesday, air raid sirens blared across the whole of Ukraine, with Kyiv's military officials saying air defense forces destroyed all Russian missiles targeting the Ukrainian capital.

Ukraine's top military command said that air forces destroyed 10 out of 14 cruise missiles Russia launched on Ukraine and one of the four Iranian-made drones.

It was not immediately clear how many missiles hit Kryvyi Rih and where the Russia-launched drones struck their targets.

Russia denies targeting civilians

In Kryvyi Rih, several civilian buildings were hit, including a five-story building, the mayor of the city, Oleksandr Vilkul, said earlier.

"Likely, there are people under the rubble," Vilkul said on Telegram.

Reuters could not independently verify the report. Vilkul did not provide any further detail.

Lisak posted a photograph of a five-story apartment building with all windows blown out and smoke coming out of some.

There was no immediate comment from Russia about the reported strikes. Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians in the war which Russia launched on its neighbor nearly 16 months ago.

The mayor of the city of Kharkiv in Ukraine's east said on his Telegram channel that Russian drones hit civilian infrastructure there, striking a warehouse and a utility firm's building. At least 10 people were killed, according to the mayor. 

"As of 1300 (1000 GMT) 10 people have been killed," Oleksandr Vilkul said in a Telegram post, adding that another person was under the rubble and a further 28 were injured.