By Valentyn Ogirenko and Jekaterina Golubkova
KYIV, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Russian air attacks killed 12 people and injured several more in Kyiv and the surrounding region early on Tuesday, authorities said, in the sixth consecutive day of strikes on the Ukrainian capital.
Russia, which began its full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour in 2022, has escalated its air attacks against Ukraine in recent months, as its progress has slowed dramatically on the battlefield.
Swarms of drones have plagued Kyiv and nearby areas in the last five days, killing residents, damaging homes and warehouses. Many of them are newer versions, powered by jet engines, making them harder to intercept. The near round-the-clock attacks have upended daily routines for millions with hours-long air-raid alerts.
More explosions were heard in the capital on Tuesday morning, a Reuters witness said.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russian drones and ballistic missiles had targeted residential areas and railway infrastructure in the heavy overnight attacks.
He called on Ukraine's allies to increase economic pressure on Russia, and to renew discussions about using Russia's frozen assets overseas to provide funding for Ukraine's war effort.
"It is time to signal (to) the Kremlin that imitating diplomacy does not work anymore," Sybiha said in a post on X. He urged allies to provide Ukraine with more air defences, as it runs critically low on the U.S.-made Patriot interceptors capable of stopping Russia's ballistic missiles.
STRIKE ON RAILWAY FACILITIES IN KYIV
In Kyiv, eight people were killed and fires broke out in different locations around the capital, emergency services said on the Telegram messaging app. Russian ballistic missile strikes on a railway depot and other railway facilities killed six employees, said the head of Ukrzaliznytsia state rail group, Oleksandr Pertsovskyi.
In Boryspil outside Kyiv, four people were killed and a further 13 injured in an attack that hit a residential building and other sites, Governor Tymur Tkachenko said on Telegram.
An Indian citizen was among those killed in Ukraine overnight, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
The overnight barrage included a "significant number" of jet-powered drones and ballistic missiles, Zelenskiy said.
Ukraine's air force said it had been able to shoot down five ballistic missiles. Kyiv recently received a small batch of Patriot interceptors.
The Russian strikes also targeted a border crossing with NATO-member Romania in the Black Sea region of Odesa, where repeated attacks on ports and ships have brought Ukraine's vital agricultural exports to a virtual halt, pressuring global food prices.
Thousands of families there were left without electricity, Zelenskiy said.
Estonia's defence forces said drones used in a Ukrainian strike against Russia had briefly entered Estonian airspace. Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said the incident — the latest of a series in recent months — showed how important it was to support Ukraine with air defence assets.
Russia's defence ministry said Moscow hit military and energy facilities in Kyiv and Odesa overnight, as well as regions surrounding these cities.
Ukraine has also increased its attacks on Russia, targeting oil facilities and logistics infrastructure to undermine Moscow's ability to wage war.
Local governors said air attacks caused a fire in the port area of Ust-Luga, a major export outlet in the northwest, and damaged civilian facilities in the Samara region, home to a number of major oil refineries some 800 km (500 miles) southeast of Moscow.
A civilian was also killed in an attack on Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, the acting governor said.
PEACE EFFORTS
U.S.-led peace talks stalled this year as Ukraine refused Russian demands to cede territory and as Washington has become increasingly preoccupied with the conflict with Iran.
Zelenskiy said on Monday he had held a "detailed and constructive" call with U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and that the sides were working to finalise dates for a visit to Ukraine.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the war needed to end for humanity's sake. The Kremlin leader said Moscow was "moving forward along this path".
(Reporting by Valentyn Ogirenko in Kyiv, Jekaterīna Golubkova in Tokyo and Anna Pruchnicka in Gdansk; Editing by Daniel Flynn, Aidan Lewis)
