Russia pummels Kyiv, killing 7 and denting peace hopes

Russia pummelled Kyiv for hours early on Thursday, firing hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in an attack that killed at least seven people and further shredded hopes of a halt to Moscow's grinding war.
Journalists in the capital heard air raid sirens wailing out over the city before several hours of thunderous explosions and flashes in the sky sent Kyiv residents running to shelter in metro stations.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 675 attack drones and 56 missiles, mainly at Kyiv, adding its air defence units had downed 652 of the drones and 41 missiles.
'Everything was burning. People were screaming... people were shouting,' Andriy, a Kyiv resident, said near a collapsed Soviet-era residential building.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said 20 sites in the capital were damaged, including homes, a school, a vet clinic and other civilian infrastructure.
Seven bodies were pulled from the rubble of a single destroyed residential building - three men, three women and a young girl, police said. Another 45 were wounded.
Russian attacks also wounded people in the southern regions of Odesa and Kherson, and in the eastern region of Kharkiv.
'These are definitely not the actions of those who believe the war is coming to an end. It is important that partners do not remain silent about this strike,' Zelensky said.
Ukraine said it shot down 94 per cent of all drones and 73 per cent of the missiles fired by Russia.
'The most difficult challenge is defending against ballistic missiles,' he said.
A slew of Ukraine's allies, including the United Kingdom, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, the Netherlands, Moldova and Slovakia, condemned the fatal attacks.
'By bombing civilians, Russia demonstrates less its strength than its weakness: it is running out of solutions on the military front and does not know how to end its war of aggression,' French President Emmanuel Macron said.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen says Kyiv attacks show that Russia 'openly mocks' efforts to end the war.
Russia, which attacked Ukraine more than four years ago, said the wave of missiles and drones had targeted military-linked sites and energy facilities that support the Ukrainian army.
- AFP