Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky’s chief of staff said Russian “kamikaze drones” hit Kyiv early on Monday. Zelensky said Russia had launched a barrage of drone and missile attacks across the country, but that the strikes would not "break" Ukrainians.

12:43pm: Rocket attacks kill several people in Ukraine’s Sumy region, governor says

Russian rocket attacks killed three people and injured nine in Ukraine’s eastern region of Sumy, regional governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky said on social media.

"At 5:20 (0220 GMT) in the morning, three Russian rockets hit a facility of civil infrastructure. At least three people died. Nine are injured. There are still people under the rubble," Zhyvytsky said on social media.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal earlier said Russian strikes had hit energy facilities in Sumy and the central Dnipropetrovsk region.

12:03pm: At least three killed in Russian drone strike on Kyiv building, Zelensky aide says

Three people were killed in a Russian drone attack on a residential building in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Monday morning, an official in the presidential office said.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that 19 people had been rescued from the residential building and rescue work was continuing.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi reported several deaths across the country following the Russian attacks, but did not give a more precise death toll.

11:29am: Russia's Medvedev warns Israel against supplying arms to Ukraine

Russia's former leader Dmitry Medvedev warned Israel on Monday against supplying weapons to Ukraine, saying any move to bolster Kyiv's forces would severely damage bilateral ties.

"Israel appears to be getting ready to supply weapons to the Kyiv regime. A very reckless move. It would destroy all bilateral relations between our countries," the former president and prime minister said in a statement on Telegram.

11:09am: Russia attacked 'critical infrastructure' in three regions, says Ukraine's PM

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Monday that Russian strikes had hit critical infrastructure in three regions, knocking out electricity to hundreds of towns and villages across the country.

"Russian terrorists once again attacked the energy infrastructure of Ukraine in three regions," Shmyhal said, pointing to five strikes in Kyiv as well as attacks in the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions. "Hundreds of settlements were cut off as a result of the attack," he said.

11:00am: Russian strike on Kyiv building kills one, wounds three, says mayor

The mayor of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv said Monday that at least one person was killed following a series of Russian drone attacks that struck a residential building in the centre of the city.

"The remains of one woman were recovered from the rubble of a house in Shevchenkivskyi district, where an explosion occurred as a result of a drone attack. Another person is under the rubble. Three people were hospitalised," Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.

10:13am: Russian kamikaze drones strike Kyiv in attack of 'desperation'

Ukraine said on Monday that Russia had attacked Kyiv with a swarm of "kamikaze drones", in what the president's office said was an act of desperation nearly eight months into Russia's invasion.

At least four kamikaze drones are reported to have hit the capital, including in residential areas. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 18 people had been rescued from the rubble.

9:30am: Zelensky says Russian strikes 'won't be able to break' Ukrainians

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Russia had launched a barrage of drone and missile attacks across the country but that the attacks would not "break" Ukrainians.

"All night and all morning, the enemy terrorises the civilian population. Kamikaze drones and missiles are attacking all of Ukraine. The enemy can attack our cities but it won't be able to break us," he said.

Zelensky confirmed a residential building in Kyiv had been hit, after Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people had been trapped under the rubble.

8:26am: EU to launch training mission for Ukraine troops

The EU is set to step up its military support for Ukraine on Monday by launching a mission to train 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers and providing €500 million more for weapons.

Foreign ministers from the bloc's 27 member states are expected to sign off on the decisions at a meeting in Luxembourg and diplomats say the mission should become operational next month. 

"It's a big first for the EU," said one European diplomat. "We've never done a training mission of that scope."

After almost eight months of war, Ukraine's forces are making progress on the battlefield and Kyiv's western backers are keen to make sure its troops have the capacity to keep fighting. 

8:09am: Families try to find their bearings after surviving Russian occupation

On a street in the eastern Ukraine city of Izyum with barely a house still standing, a sign reads, 'people with three small children'. Inside, a young family is trying to find their bearings after surviving the worst of the Russian invasion and occupation. FRANCE 24's Catherine Norris Trent, Mélina Huet, Raïd Abu Zaideh, Yuri Shyvala and Denys Denysov filed this report. 

 7:00am: Kyiv attacked by 'kamikaze drones', says Ukrainian presidency

Kyiv was attacked by "kamikaze drones" early Monday, the Ukrainian president's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said after several explosions were heard in the central Shevchenkivsky district of the capital.

"The Russians think it will help them, but it shows their desperation," he said on social media.

6:47am: Ukraine war pushes 4 million children into poverty, says UN 

Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the resulting economic fallout have thrown 4 million children into poverty across eastern Europe and Central Asia, the UN children's agency said Monday.

"Children are bearing the heaviest burden of the economic crisis caused by the war in Ukraine," UNICEF said.

The conflict "and rising inflation have driven an additional four million children across eastern Europe and Central Asia into poverty, a 19 percent increase since 2021", it said.

UNICEF drew its conclusions from a study of data from 22 countries.

6:30am: Several explosions heard in Kyiv

Several explosions were heard Monday morning in Kyiv, exactly a week after Russian missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital, AFP journalists said.

Three blasts occurred between 6:35am and 6:58am (0335 GMT and 0358 GMT). Air raid sirens sounded shortly before the first explosion.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said one of the blasts was in the capital's central Shevchenkivsky district.

"All services are on their way to the spot. Details later. The air alert continues. Stay in shelters!" Klitschko said on social media.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)