Russia has significantly upped its attacks on the Ukrainian capital in recent months, typically firing salvos of hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles in short blitzes that rock buildings and send booms echoing across the city. "Ballistic interceptors are what could have saved the lives of those killed today," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said when announcing that 17 people had been killed. A cloud of smoke hovered over the capital at sunrise after the attacks sparked fires in several locations in the region. More than 40 people were wounded in the capital and its surrounding areas, according to local authorities. AFP journalists heard explosions in Kyiv after midnight (2100 GMT Tuesday) following Ukrainian air force warnings of incoming ballistic missiles. One journalist reported seeing dark smoke and the acrid smell of burning lingering in the air hours later. "The night was so terrifying, so hard," Kyiv resident Natalia Reutska said in the morning after the attack. "We've gotten used to waking up thinking, 'We were lucky today,' and that's very scary," she added. Read morePatriot missile license a 'long-term' investment for Ukraine – but can it afford the wait?
Acrid smell lingered in the air for hours © Roman PILIPEY / AFP
