Official: Three killed in Russian strikes on Kyiv region

Russian strikes has killed three people, including a child, in a district northeast of Ukraine's capital, a regional military official said, as Kyiv warned of incoming ballistic missiles.

Moscow has significantly upped its attacks on the Ukrainian capital in recent months, typically firing salvos of hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles in short blitzes that rock buildings and send booms echoing across the city.

On a post on Telegram, head of the regional military administration Tymur Tkachenko said three people, including a child, were killed and three others were wounded in strikes in Brovary district northeast of Kyiv.

Falling debris from the attacks damaged houses and vehicles and caused a fire in a non-residential building, he said.

Inside the capital, an AFP reporter heard a dozen explosions as Ukraine's air force warned of the "threat of ballistic weapon use from the north".

"An air raid alert has been declared in Kyiv due to the use of ballistic missiles," the city's military administration said, instructing residents to take shelter.

Meanwhile Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky began his first official visit to Serbia to discuss security with a rare European country still closely allied with Moscow since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Welcomed at Belgrade airport by Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, Mr Zelensky had dinner with Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić.

"We will discuss expanding economic ties between our countries, relations with the European Union, other areas that can benefit our nations, and security issues," Mr Zelensky said on X.

With Serbia historically close to Russia, Mr Vučić has refused to sanction Moscow, a move that has irked the EU and slowed Belgrade's path to joining the bloc.

Mr Vučić and Mr Zelensky are to hold official talks today at the presidential palace and make a statement to the press, according to the Serbian presidency.

A senior Ukrainian official told AFP ahead of the trip that it was an attempt to "pull the Serbs away from Russia's side", but Mr Vučić has remained adamant that his decision not to sanction Moscow would not change.

"I am sure Volodymyr Zelensky, in line with his struggle and his views, will say what he thinks about sanctions against the Russian Federation, but the Republic of Serbia set out its position four-and-a-half years ago, almost five years ago, and has not changed it since," Mr Vučić told media on Thursday.

"That will remain the case until further notice," he added.

Mr Zelensky - who has toured much of the world since Russia's 2022 invasion seeking support - has not visited Serbia since he became president in 2019.

Although heavily dependent on cheap Russian gas and one of the rare European leaders to still visit Moscow, Mr Vučić has also supplied non-military aid to Kyiv.

The Kremlin has accused Serbian firms of selling munitions to Ukraine, a claim Mr Vučić has repeatedly denied.

The Serbian president went to Ukraine for a regional summit last year and visited Kyiv this year.

He has promised assistance to Ukraine but avoided signing a formal declaration of support in the war.