Explosions hit Kyiv as Ukraine says Russia launched ballistic missile attack

A series of explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, shortly after midnight on Tuesday, an AFP journalist said, after the air force warned that several missiles were approaching.

"Air defence systems are operating in the capital," the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. "The enemy is attacking Kyiv with ballistic missiles."

Fires broke out in the Holosiivsky district, in the south of Kyiv, he added.

Air-raid sirens began to sound in the capital before half a dozen explosions were heard.

The attack came after Ukraine and its allies in the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" met in Paris on Monday to step up their support and increase pressure on Moscow to end the war, which is now into its fifth year.

Before the summit, 10 countries announced the formation of a coalition to develop "purely defensive" anti-ballistic capabilities in Europe, which Kyiv sorely lacks currently in the face of Russian air attacks.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky called the move "historic". He has repeatedly called for more air defences to stave off the repeated strikes by Russian ballistic and hypersonic missiles.

Since last month, Kyiv has been targeted by massive strikes using a range of missiles, including ballistic weapons, which are faster and harder to intercept.

Thirty people were killed in a large-scale Russian bombardment on the night of July 1 to 2.