Kyiv Under Missile Attack

Russia fired more than 30 missiles at Kyiv, the largest attack on the Ukrainian capital in weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed retribution for escalating strikes on Russia's border regions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to deliver air defense systems after the attacks, which wounded 17 in Kyiv and the surrounding region.

Ukraine's air force said it shot down 31 Russian missiles fired towards Kyiv.

"Such terror continues every day and night," Zelensky said.

"It is possible to put an end to it through global unity... Russian terrorists do not have missiles capable of bypassing Patriot and other leading world systems," he said.

"This protection is required in Ukraine now. From Kyiv to Kharkiv, Sumy to Kherson, and Odessa to the Donetsk region. This is entirely possible if our partners demonstrate sufficient political will."

For weeks a vital $60 billion US military aid package for Ukraine has been blocked in Congress amid domestic political arguments.

Local officials said falling debris from the missiles injured 17 people -- 13 in Kyiv and four in the surrounding region.

The air force said Russia fired two Iskander ballistic missiles and 29 cruise missiles, launched from strategic bombers.

Russia's defense ministry said that it had targeted Ukrainian military sites with "long-range high-precision weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles."

The attack comes after a sharp escalation in Ukrainian strikes on Russian border regions and oil refineries over the last two weeks.

Russia's FSB security service also said that it had arrested a Russian citizen in Belgorod who was preparing "terrorist acts against the Russian military", Russian state media reported.