Russian-Ukrainian War Live: Multiple Explosions Hit Central Kyiv; conflict has pushed four million children into poverty, says UN | Ukraine

Ukrainian Railways official Alexander Kamyshin said the bombing happened near Kyiv’s central station, confirming what the Guardian’s Daniel Boffey, who is at the station, said moments ago .

So far, there are no known casualties from the strikes near the station, although residential buildings were also damaged in the attacks.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said “several residential buildings” were damaged in the strikes on Kyiv this morning, and medics are on the scene.

In a post on Telegram, Kitschko wrote:

As a result of the drone attack, a fire broke out in a non-residential building in the Shevchenkiv district of Kyiv. Firefighters work. Several residential buildings were damaged. Doctors are on site. We clarify the information about the victims.

At around 6.30am, Guardian correspondents in Kyiv heard two explosions followed moments later by a third.

Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko confirmed two explosions in the downtown Shevchenkiv district on his Telegram channel.

Quoting Andriy Yermak, the head of the president’s office, the Kyiv post confirms that Kyiv was hit by suicide drones.

According to Ukrainian military officials, “kamikaze drones” are cheaper and less sophisticated than missiles, but have proven effective in damaging ground targets. Shahed-136 drones are capable of staying in the air for several hours and hovering over potential targets before being hurled at enemy troops, armor or buildings and exploding on impact.

The Guardian’s Charlotte Higgins is in Kyiv, where she heard at least three explosions this morning.

On Telegram, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote:

“The explosion in the Shevchenkiv district – in the center of the capital. All services follow in place. Details later. The air alert continues. Stay in the shelters!

The Shevchenkivskiy district is the same area that was hit by several explosions a week ago, on October 10. At least 19 people were killed in last week’s attacks on Kyiv and more than 100 were injured.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. My name is Helen Sullivan and I will be explaining the latest news to you in the next few hours.

The Guardian’s Charlotte Higgins is in Kyiv, where she heard at least three explosions this morning.

Meanwhile, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting economic fallout have plunged four million children into poverty in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Unicef ​​said on Monday. .

“Children bear the greatest burden of the economic crisis caused by the war in Ukraine,” said Unicef.

The conflict “and rising inflation have pushed an additional four million children in Eastern Europe and Central Asia into poverty, a 19% increase since 2021”, he said.

Unicef ​​drew its conclusions from a study of data from 22 countries.

More information on these developments shortly. In the meantime, here is a summary of the main recent news:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a “very serious” situation persisted in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, with the “toughest” fighting near the town of Bakhmut. The attacks came as Russia’s war in Ukraine approaches eight months.

• On Sunday, pro-Kremlin officials blamed Ukraine for a rocket attack that hit the office of the mayor of Donetsk, a town controlled by separatists, while Ukrainian officials said Russian rocket fire hit a town near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, among other targets.

• More than 30 settlements across Ukraine have been hit by Russian strikes over the past day, according to the Ukrainian army. Two schools in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia were reportedly destroyed in the strikes, which targeted civilian areas.

• The Ukrainian army said the estimated number of Russians killed since the start of the war had reached 65,000. Sunday morning’s update from the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff said the death toll had risen by 300 in the past 24 hours.

• In Ukraine, 423 children have been killed since the start of the invasion said the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office. He added that another 810 children had been injured in the conflict and that the highest number of child victims were in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kyiv regions.

• Ukraine has managed to maintain its energy stability after last week’s Russian attacks that targeted key parts of its infrastructure, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. In a Facebook post, Shmyhal said that in the first three days of the week, Russia launched up to 130 missile and drone strikes against civilian and energy facilities, particularly in the capital, Kyiv.

• Russia is “probably unable to produce advanced munitions at the rate it is being spent”, according to the latest update from the UK Ministry of Defence.

• US and allied security officials believe Iran has agreed to supply Russia with surface-to-surface missiles and attack drones intended for use in Ukraine. The subject is due to be discussed by EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.

• The Belarusian Defense Ministry said just under 9,000 Russian troops would be stationed in Belarus as part of a “regional grouping” of forces to protect its borders. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko last week said his troops would be deployed with Russian forces near the Ukrainian border as part of a “joint grouping”, citing what he said were threats from the Ukraine and the west.

• Russian soldiers reportedly shot dead Ukrainian conductor Yuriy Kerpatenko at his home after refusing to participate in a concert in occupied Kherson. The concert was “intended by the occupiers to demonstrate the so-called ‘improvement of peaceful life’ in Kherson”, the Kyiv Ministry of Culture said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.

• US think tank The Institute for the Study of War said Russia continues to carry out ‘mass and forced deportations’ of Ukrainians which “probably amounts to a deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing”. In its latest assessment of the conflict, the Institute for the Study of War notes that Russian officials have “openly admitted to placing children from occupied areas of Ukraine for adoption with Russian families.”

• Poverty in Ukraine has increased tenfold since the start of the war, said a senior World Bank official. Arup Banerji, the bank’s regional director for Eastern Europe, said Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure far from the front lines of the conflict have complicated the already dire economic situation.