KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Explosions rang out over the Ukrainian capital on Monday and Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists witnessed air defense batteries fending off a barrage of Russian projectiles during a rare daytime attack on Kyiv.

Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv was also under bombardment, the mayor said, adding that one person was wounded and transport infrastructure was damaged.

Russian forces have stepped up long-range drone and missile attacks over recent months, mainly targeting energy facilities.

The barrage comes as United States-led efforts to bring Kyiv and Moscow to the negotiating table appear to have been derailed by the US-Israeli war with Iran.

The mayor of Kyiv said shortly before the air alert was lifted that drone debris had crashed in two districts of the city but did not report any casualties.

“Emergency services are heading to the scenes,” mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

AFP journalists saw flashes and clouds of smoke, as residents of the capital sought cover during rush hour.

The Ukrainian air force had warned of a “high-speed target” aimed at Kyiv coming from the north of the country, which borders Russia.

The Russian capital has also been targeted by Ukrainian drones over recent days, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, adding that Russian air defense systems had downed around 250 drones “as they approached Moscow.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sparked the bloodiest war in Europe since World War II, forcing the displacement of millions and killing hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians on both sides.

Earlier on Monday morning, a 67-year-old man was wounded in his car in the southern Kherson region by a Russian drone, and an 18-year-old man and women aged 48 and 81 were wounded in a Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia.