Death toll from Russian strikes in Kiev rises to 22

The death toll from heavy Russian missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kiev has risen to 22, authorities said on Wednesday.

Ukraine’s civil defence authority said six more bodies were recovered overnight from the rubble of a partially destroyed nine-storey residential building, raising the death toll from Tuesday’s strike on that building alone to 17.

In total, 22 people were killed and 134 injured across the capital, authorities said. Rescue efforts were ongoing.

On Tuesday, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile had directly hit the high-rise building.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack “pure terrorism.”

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to speak about the war in Ukraine — now in its fourth year — at the International Economic Forum in St Petersburg, which opens Wednesday.