Zelensky says Russia ‘trying to wipe us off face of the earth’ after air strikes on multiple cities

A Ukrainian ministry adviser has said at least eight people have been killed and 24 injured in Kyiv following strikes

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of trying to wipe his country “off the face of the earth” after multiple cities, including Kyiv, were hit with fresh strikes.

Reporters in Kyiv said a series of blasts in the city’s centre during the morning rush hour appeared to result from missile strikes. Five other cities, most in Ukraine’s west where the conflict has seldom reached, were attacked, according to Ukrainian officials.

“They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth...destroy our people who are sleeping at home in (the city of) Zaporizhzhia. Kill people who go to work in Dnipro and Kyiv,” Mr Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app.