Five people were killed in a strike in Kursk, Russia, after a missile attack on Kyiv

Russia says five people were killed in a Ukrainian strike west of Kursk.

Ukrainian officials reported earlier that Moscow had launched a new attack on Kyiv, damaging a building that houses several embassies.

In Russia, the deputy governor of the Kursk region said that in addition to those who died, nine were taken to the hospital following the attack on the city of Rylsk.

Alexander Khinshtein said a cultural center, a gymnasium, a school and homes were damaged in the strike which took place at 15:30 local time (12:30 GMT) on Friday.

Russian officials earlier reported that six people were killed, including a child, in Rylsk, about 25 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

But in an audio message on Telegram on Saturday morning, Khinstein gave the latest update, saying five people had died.

“There was no child among them [killed]” he said.

Ukrainian forces still hold parts of the Kursk region after a surprise attack on the border in early August.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said that the Russian strike in Kyiv affected the embassies of Albania, Argentina, North Macedonia, Palestine, Portugal and Montenegro. It is not yet clear whether the building they were living in was targeted directly at the Ukrainian capital.

At least one person was killed and nine others were injured in the strike that destroyed dozens of buildings in the city, the Ukrainian military said. It is not believed that any diplomats were injured.

In a verified video shot in Pecherskyi District, the second Roman Catholic church in Kyiv, St. Nicholas Cathedral. it is shown through broken windows following a nearby explosion.

Ukraine’s military said Russia launched 65 drones and missiles across the country overnight, most of which were shot down.

A man from Kyiv, who said he owned a restaurant that was badly injured following the attack, was filmed calling Russians “monsters” as he surveyed the charred shell of a building in front of him.

The video was widely shared on social media.

Oksana, another resident, sent the BBC pictures of her house in ruins, with windows blown out and glass and bricks strewn across the floor.

“I don’t understand how I survived,” she said.

“My balcony flew off, part of my walls were destroyed. My neighbor is so scared that he can’t even speak. I have no words for the people who did this.”

A local journalist at the scene told the BBC that one of the nearby buildings was used by Ukraine’s security forces, the SBU, and may have been the target of the strikes, although the most extensive damage seen by the BBC was affected. residential buildings.

In a statement confirming the attack, Russia’s Defense Ministry said the missiles were fired “at the command” of the SBU in response to a strike at a chemical plant in Russia’s Rostov Region two days ago.

But there is also speculation in Kyiv that Friday’s attack could be linked to the assassination of a Russian general, Lt-Gen Igor Kirillov, in Moscow on Tuesday.

Friday’s attack comes a day after Vladimir Putin’s year-end press conference and phone show, during which he threatened to launch multiple missiles at the Ukrainian capital.

There is concern in Ukraine that Russia may use the so-called Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile to hit Kyiv. Moscow tested the missile in the central city of Dnipro earlier this month.

Earlier on Friday morning, Ukrainian authorities issued an air alert linked to the launch of the Oreshnik missile, and urged people in Kyiv to seek shelter immediately. It turns out to be a false alarm.