Six dead in attack in Kursk, Russia, after deadly missile attack in Kyiv

Oksana, another resident, sent the BBC photographs of her destroyed apartment, with windows blown out and glass and bricks scattered on the floor.

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

“My balcony flew away, half of my walls are gone. My neighbor is so shocked 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 had been used by the Ukrainian Security Service, the SBU, and had probably been the target of the attacks, although much of the damage seen by the BBC had affected residential buildings.

In a statement confirming the attack, the Russian Defense Ministry said missiles had been launched at an SBU “command post” in response to an attack on a chemical plant in Russia’s Rostov region two days ago.

But there is also speculation in kyiv that Friday’s attack could be linked to the assassination of the Russian general, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, in Moscow on Tuesday.

Friday’s attack came a day after Vladimir Putin’s New Year’s Eve news conference and phone show, in which he threatened to launch more ballistic missiles at the Ukrainian capital.

There is concern in kyiv that Russia could use the so-called Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile to hit the capital. Moscow test-fired the missile against the city of Dnieper earlier this month.

On Friday morning, Ukrainian authorities issued an air alert related to the possible launch of an Oreshnik missile and urged the population of kyiv to urgently seek shelter. It turned out to be a false alarm.