Vladimir Putin has celebrated his 74th birthday by launching a massive missile attack on Ukraine's capital of Kyiv.
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Putin → celebrate → Kyiv
The offensive killed two people on Wednesday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of 'massive strikes' heading towards the city.
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Zelensky → kill → city
The capital has come under increased attack in recent weeks as winter approaches, with air raid sirens wailing nearly constantly to warn of incoming Russian strikes.
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sirens → come → strikes
Residents hunkered down in subway stations early on Wednesday, hauling duffel bags, sleeping mats and blankets, after the military issued alerts for Kyiv and other parts of the country.
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military → hunker → country
'We grabbed our things and came here, we live right next door,' Iryna Rybalchenko, who works in a bank, said sitting on the platform wrapped in a dark hoodie and surrounded by bags.
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who → grab → bags
We were stuck at work today and everyone - our group chats, our bosses - were messaging us to be careful.
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everyone → stick → us
'
The Russian attacks have targeted energy infrastructure and rail and road transport, including the bridges that connect the metropolis sprawled along both sides of the Dnipro river.
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that → target → river
Fire and smoke rise in Kyiv during a Russian missile and drone strike
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv
Russia's defence ministry said today its forces had carried out a 'massive strike' on military-industrial facilities in Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions, using high-precision land-, sea- and air-launched weapons, as well as drones.
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forces → rise → weapons
Targets included sites where the company Fire Point makes and stores Flamingo cruise missiles and medium- and long-range drones in Kyiv as well as regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Kharkiv, it said.
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it → include → Kyiv
The strikes targeted port and ship-repair infrastructure in the Odesa region, as well as vessels it said were being used in the interests of Ukraine's armed forces, the ministry added.
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ministry → target → forces
Klitschko said two people died in a fire in the densely populated Darnytskyi neighbourhood as a result of Wednesday's attack.
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people → say → attack
'Two people were rescued while the fire was being extinguished,' he wrote on Telegram.
'
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he → rescue → Telegram
The bodies of two people who had been killed were found.'
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who → kill → people
Zelensky had warned residents to monitor for air raid sirens, saying in his nightly address that 'there is updated intelligence information regarding the preparation by the Russians of a massive strike.'
He insisted the military was 'ready to respond, to the extent that our defence systems allow'.
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systems → warn → extent
Soon after Zelensky's address, scheduled power cuts plunged parts of Kyiv into darkness to ease the pressure on the battered grid.
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cuts → schedule → grid
The Ukrainian air force warned that a ballistic missile was heading for Kyiv.
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missile → warn → Kyiv
Firefighters work at the site of private car garages hit by a Russian missile strike
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Firefighters → work → strike
A resident with a dog looks on at the site of private car garages hit by a Russian missile strike
Military monitoring channels also said they expected a large-scale Russian attack, combining cruise and ballistic missiles with fast-moving jet-powered drones.
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they → look → drones
'The children were absolutely terrified.
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children → terrify → ?
Whenever there's heavy shelling, we try to head underground,' Daria Medvedeva, 36, said.
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Medvedeva → be → ?
In the northeastern region of Sumy Oblast, Russian drone attacks killed two men and wounded scores of people, the National Police of Ukraine said.
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Police → kill → Ukraine
It said the wounded included three children aged seven, 14 and 16, who were hurt when an apartment was hit.
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apartment → say → children
Kyiv's mayor warned last week the capital should now be on a war footing as the enemy was 'tearing Kyiv apart' with strikes on bridges and energy infrastructure.
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enemy → warn → bridges
Ukraine's military had also warned a ballistic missile was heading to Zaporizhzhia in the southeast, where authorities said an attack damaged transport infrastructure.
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attack → warn → infrastructure
The onslaught comes as last week Zelensky claimed that Putin had ordered his military leaders to 'abandon the rules of war'.
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Putin → come → war
His order coincided with Russia's increased assault on civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, Zelensky told the Financial Times.
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Zelensky → coincide → Times
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