Russian ballistic missile attack injures at least 4 in Kyiv, damages children's hospital

Editor's Note: This is a developing story and will be updated.

Russia launched a large ballistic missile attack on Kyiv shortly after midnight on Aug. 20, injuring at least four people, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground.

There were numerous consecutive explosions heard in several parts of the city, including the Sviatoshynskyi, Solomianskyi, and Shevchenkivskyi districts. The blasts caused houses to shake and set off car alarms in parts of the city.

In the Solomianskyi district, debris fell near a five-story residential building, blowing out windows and causing a fire, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Emergency services were heading to the scene. A children's hospital building in the district was also damaged, with windows blown out and cars burning on the hospital grounds.

Ukraine's Air Force warned of ballistic missiles heading toward the capital as the attack was underway, as well as Russian Zircon missiles launched from Russia's Kursk Oblast in the direction of Kyiv.

Klitschko reported a strike on the grounds of a non-residential building in the Sviatoshynskyi district, while non-residential buildings were also on fire in the Darnytskyi district. He urged residents to remain in shelters as missiles continued to approach the capital.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Ukraine faces a chronic shortage of interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems, the only system that can intercept ballistic missiles. Russia has taken advantage of the situation in recent weeks by drastically increasing the numbers used in mass attacks.