Kyiv (AFP) — Russia pummeled Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles early Tuesday, killing at least 11 people, after threatening a large-scale attack and warning foreign citizens to leave Kyiv.

Authorities in Kyiv had been sounding the alarm that Russia was preparing another massive barrage, the latest in a string of deadly strikes that have escalated the four-year war and dented hopes for peace.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists in the capital heard air raid sirens wailing over the city before a series of loud explosions that lasted throughout the night sent residents with bags and blankets rushing to shelter in crowded metro stations.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 73 missiles and 656 drones, adding it had downed 602 of the drones and 40 of the missiles.

Moscow has bombarded Ukraine almost daily since launching its invasion in February 2022, a war that is now the bloodiest on European soil since World War II, with hundreds of thousands killed and millions displaced.

Russia said on Tuesday that it had carried out a huge strike, including with hypersonic missiles, targeting Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.

It denies that its forces target civilians.

But Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said four people were killed and at least 65 were wounded, including two children.

In the industrial city of Dnipro further south, seven people were killed and around 35 were wounded, local authorities announced.

AFP journalists saw explosions and huge plumes of smoke billowing across Kyiv’s skyline at dawn, while rescue workers cleared debris beneath multi-storey residential buildings gutted in the attack.