Five people were killed in a raid on the Russian city of Kursk after the deadly missile attack on Kyiv

Russia says five people were killed in a Ukrainian raid in the western Kursk region.

Ukrainian officials reported earlier that Moscow launched a new missile attack on Kiev, causing damage to a building housing several embassies.

In Russia, the acting governor of the Kursk region said that in addition to the dead, nine were taken to hospital after the attack on the town of Rylsk.

Alexander Khenshtin said a cultural centre, a fitness complex, a school and homes were damaged in the raid, which occurred at 15:30 local time (12:30 GMT) on Friday.

Russian officials had previously announced the killing of six people, including a child, in Rylsk, about 25 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

But in a voice message on Telegram on Saturday morning, Heinstein provided the latest update, saying there were five dead.

“There were no children among (the dead),” he added.

Ukrainian forces still control parts of the Kursk region after launching a surprise cross-border attack in early August.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that the Russian strike on Kiev affected the diplomatic missions of Albania, Argentina, North Macedonia, Palestine, Portugal and Montenegro. It is unclear whether the building they live in was directly targeted in the Ukrainian capital.

The Ukrainian army said that at least one person was killed and nine others were injured in the attack, which damaged a number of buildings in the city. It is not believed that any embassy diplomats were injured.

In a verified video filmed in the Pechersky district, the second oldest Roman Catholic church in Kiev, St. Nicholas Cathedral. Windows are shown shattered after a nearby explosion.

The Ukrainian army said that Russia launched 65 drones and missiles across the country overnight, most of which were shot down.

A man in Kiev, who said he was the owner of a restaurant that suffered severe damage following the attack, was filmed cursing Russians and calling them “monsters” as he inspected the charred shell of the building in front of him.

The video was widely circulated on social media.

Oksana, another resident, sent the BBC photos of her destroyed apartment, with windows smashed and glass and bricks scattered all over the floors.

“I don’t understand how I survived,” she said.

“My balcony was blown away, and half the walls of my house were gone. My neighbor is in so much shock that she can’t even speak. I have no words for the people who did this.”

A local journalist at the scene told the BBC that one of the nearby buildings was being used by the Ukrainian security service, and was likely the target of the strikes, although much of the damage seen by the BBC was traceable. Residential buildings.

In a statement confirming the attack, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that missiles were fired at a “command center” of the Ukrainian security service in response to an attack on a chemical factory in the Russian Rostov region two days ago.

But there is also speculation in Kyiv that Friday’s attack may be linked to the killing Russian General Lieutenant General Igor KirillovIn Moscow on Tuesday.

Friday’s attack comes one day later Vladimir Putin’s end-of-year press conference He made a phone call in which he threatened to launch more ballistic missiles at the Ukrainian capital.

There are concerns in Ukraine that Russia may use a – The so-called Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile To hit Kyiv. Moscow test-fired the missile at the city of Dnipro in the center of the country earlier this month.

Earlier Friday morning, Ukrainian authorities issued a weather alert linked to a possible Oreshnik missile launch, urging people in Kiev to urgently seek shelter. It turned out to be a false alarm.