KYIV, Dec 13 — Debris from Russian missiles shot down by Ukrainian air defences damaged a hospital and residential building in the capital today, injuring at least 50 people, city authorities said.

The attack happened as President Volodymyr Zelensky was outside the country on a visit to Washington, where President Joe Biden warned that Russia was banking on the United States abandoning Ukraine.

It marks one of the biggest number of injured in the capital in months.

Sergiy Popko, head of the city’s military administration, said there were 51 people injured, including six children.

He said there were reports of a dozen cases of falling missile debris, including from the Desnyansky district where 17 residents, including seven children, were evacuated from a building on fire.

The Ukrainian air force said that Russia launched an assault at 3am (0100 GMT/9am Malaysian time) and sent ten missiles towards Kyiv which were shot down.

An AFP journalist in the city heard several explosions and air raid sirens sounding.

City mayor Vitali Klitschko said an apartment building in the Dniprovsky district was damaged, forcing the evacuation of 15 residents, including four children and two disabled people.

He said "a missile fell on the territory of one of the capital’s hospitals” during the night attack, resulting in windows being "blown out in several buildings of the facility”.

One person was injured at the hospital, according to the mayor.

Police at the scene were "inspecting the crater on the territory of the medical facility”, he added.

Second Kyiv strike

Klitschko said missile debris that fell on a road damaged the district’s water supply network.

It is the second strike on Kyiv in a week.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said that "as a result of the air defence work on downing the missiles, debris fell in three left-bank districts of the city”.

"Same as on December 11, the enemy used ballistic weapons,” the Kyiv City Military Administration said, adding: "The enemy is intensifying the missile terror of Kyiv”.

Air defences downed a missile in Kyiv on September 21. The falling debris wounded seven people, including a child.

Speaking during a press conference alongside Zelensky at the White House testerday, Biden said that the United States would "continue to supply Ukraine with critical weapons and equipment as long as we can.”

The Ukrainian leader dismissed suggestions he could concede territory taken by Russia since its February 2022 invasion to move any ceasefire closer.

In the south of the country, Odesa was also targeted by a Russian attack, mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov said on his Telegram channel. He said there were people injured in the attack without providing any figures.

According to the Ukrainian military, Iranian-built Shahed drones were shot down above the city. — AFP