At least two killed in Kyiv as Russia launches large-scale attack on Ukraine

At least two people were killed in Kyiv after Russia launched what it described as a large-scale attack on Ukraine, according to Al Jazeera. Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces carried out a "massive strike" targeting Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions.

The report does not provide additional details on the number of people injured, the specific districts of Kyiv affected, or the types of weapons used in the attack beyond characterizing it as large in scale. Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities have periodically targeted both military-related and civilian infrastructure throughout the conflict, with Ukrainian officials typically releasing more detailed damage assessments in the hours following such attacks.

Russia's Defence Ministry statement, as cited in the report, framed the strike using its own characterization without detailing the specific targets it says it intended to hit. Ukrainian authorities have in the past disputed Russian characterizations of strikes as targeting only military infrastructure, pointing to civilian casualties and damage in residential areas following similar attacks.

The reported deaths in Kyiv add to the ongoing civilian toll from Russian strikes on Ukrainian territory since the start of the full-scale invasion. The attack comes amid a continued pattern of large, mixed-weapon strikes combining missiles and drones that Ukrainian air defenses have had to respond to on a near-nightly basis in recent periods.

The report does not include a detailed response from Ukrainian officials regarding the attack's aftermath or plans for recovery efforts in the affected areas of Kyiv.