Russia launched an air attack on Kyiv early Thursday, killing at least three people including two children and bringing fresh terror to the city after a week of strikes. Moscow's forces have recently launched a series of aerial assaults on the Ukrainian capital, including an unusual daytime attack on Monday that sent residents running for shelter. Thursday's attack began around 3:00 am local time (0000 GMT) when cruise and ballistic missiles were fired on the city, killing three people and injuring 10 others, officials said. "Among the three dead in the Desnyansky district, there were two children (aged 5-6 and 12-13)," the Kyiv City Military Administration wrote on Telegram.

In Russia's western Belgorod region, at least two people were wounded Thursday morning in an attack blamed on Ukrainian troops, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. "This night is tense for Shebekino again. Ukrainian troops were shelling the city for an hour," he said. Russia said Wednesday it was evacuating hundreds of children from villages due to intensifying shelling in the border region of Belgorod, where the situation was deemed "alarming" by the Kremlin. More than a year since its Ukraine invasion, Russia has suffered stepped-up attacks on its soil, with an unprecedented incursion last week in Belgorod and a drone attack on Moscow Tuesday.

Authorities had begun evacuating children from the border districts of Shebekino and Graivoron, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. "The question of children's safety in the two districts... is very important," Gladkov said. "All of us, adults, are very worried." Tensions between Russia and the West escalated further Wednesday, when Germany announced it would drastically reduce Moscow's diplomatic presence on its soil in reply to a similar move from the Kremlin. Moscow called Germany's decision "ill-thought-out" and vowed a response. And in the United States, the Pentagon announced a new $300 million arms package for Ukraine, including air defence systems and tens of millions of rounds of ammunition.

- 'Alarming situation' -

Governor Gladkov said the first 300 evacuated children would be taken to Voronezh, a city about 250 kilometres (155 miles) further into Russia. And over 1,000 more children will be removed to other provinces over the coming days, he added. A correspondent for state-run agency RIA Novosti working near Voronezh said buses had arrived with about 150 people on board. Gladkov said the situation was worsening in the village of Shebekino, where he reported more shelling during the day that injured four people but caused no deaths.

On Tuesday, one person was killed and two others were wounded in a strike on a centre for displaced people in the region. Several oil depots have also been hit in recent weeks. The attacks have come as Kyiv says it is preparing for a major offensive against Moscow's forces. "The situation is quite alarming," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said about shelling in the region. "We have not heard a single word of condemnation from the West so far."

Credit: Independent News Pakistan: INP