KYIV: Russia launched waves of missiles and drones on Kyiv before dawn on Thursday, killing 12 people including a six-year-old boy, and wounding 135 others, officials in the Ukrainian capital said.

Over 1,200 police and rescuers dealt with the consequences of the attack and the Interior Ministry said that searches for people buried under rubble continued past 4:30pm.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia launched more than 300 drones and eight missiles. `Today the world has once again seen Russia`s response to our desire for peace ... Therefore, peace without strength is impossible,` Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app.

City authorities announced a day of mourning to be held on Friday for the victims. Russia`s Defence Ministry said it targeted and hit Ukrainian military airfields and ammunition depots as well as businesses linked to what it called Kyiv`s military-industrial complex.

The Interior Ministry said 11 children were wounded, the largest number hurt in a single attack on the city since Russia started its full-scale invasion almost three and a half years ago. Explosions rocked Kyiv from about midnight onwards and blazes lit up the night sky.

Yurii Kravchuk, 62, stood wrapped in a blanket next to a damaged building with a bandage around his head.

He had heard the missile alert but did not get to a shelter in time, he told Reuters. `I started waking up my wife and then there was an explosion. My daughter ended up in the hospital,` he said. At one location in Kyiv, rescuers spent more than three hours reaching a man trapped in rubble by cutting through the wall of a neighbouring apartment, the Interior Ministry said.-Reuters