People across Ukraine have been urged to take cover as air raid sirens sound across the country and explosions are reported in the capital.

At least 10 blasts have been reported in Kyiv – with the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, saying via his Telegram account: “One of the explosions rang out between residential buildings in the Solomyansk district of the capital.”

He added: “Explosions also took place in Pechersk district and Holosiivsk district. There is destruction. Rescuers and medics follow to the places.”

He later added that at least one person had been killed – with several others injured.

The reports come after a series of Russian missile strikes in recent days, with Thursday witnessing the most intense aerial bombardments of the war to date, according to Ukrainian officials.

A presidential aide, in the capital, said a hotel was among buildings to have been damaged in the latest barrage.

The governor of the surrounding Kyiv region had warned shortly beforehand of a possible incoming missile attack, and that air defences in the region were engaging targets.

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The latest violence took place as Vladimir Putin used a New Year broadcast to Russians to reiterate that Russia was fighting in Ukraine to protect its “motherland” and to secure “true independence” for its people.

In a nine-minute message – the longest New Year’s address of his two-decade rule – the president accused the West of lying to Russia and of provoking Moscow to launch what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

“For years, Western elites hypocritically assured us of their peaceful intentions,” he said.

“In fact, in every possible way they were encouraging neo-Nazis who conducted open terrorism against civilians in the Donbas”.

He added: “The West lied about peace. It was preparing for aggression… and now they are cynically using Ukraine and its people to weaken and split Russia.

“We have never allowed this, and will never allow anybody to do this to us,” state-run news agencies quoted Putin as saying.

The West and Ukraine have rejected Moscow’s claims over the start of the conflict and say Putin launched a baseless war of aggression in a bid to seize territory and topple Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

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