UPDATE - 13 injured in Russian missile strike in Kyiv: Ukraine

CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE; ADDS LATEST INFORMATION ON STRIKES

By Elena Teslova and Burc Eruygur

MOSCOW / ISTANBUL (AA) – More than one dozen people were injured Thursday in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv from a Russian missile strike, according to authorities.

"As a result of a rocket attack in Kyiv, 13 people were injured. 6 people in Sviatoshynskyi district and 7 in Shevchenkivskyi district. 4 people were hospitalized," Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration said on Telegram.

Ukraine's State Emergency Service (DSNS) said the attack damaged multiple buildings in the districts of Podilskyi, Shevchenkivskyi and Sviatoshynskyi and "177 rescuers and 38 units of fire-rescue equipment worked on the ground,"

Air raid alerts blared earlier in the day for almost three hours in Kyiv and its suburbs, with witnesses reporting multiple blasts in several areas.

Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of Ukraine's Air Force, claimed on Telegram that Russia launched two ballistic and 29 cruise missiles toward Kyiv, all of which were downed by air defenses.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said it "successfully" launched a strike on "decision-making centers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," as well as "logistics bases" and "temporary deployment points" for special forces and foreign mercenaries.