Ukraine: Russian rockets hit Zaporizhzhia where thousands of refugees are sheltering after fleeing Mariupol

The southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, which has been serving as a safe haven for thousands of people fleeing the besieged port city of Mariupol, came under fire from Russian forces on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said.

"Civilian objects have been bombed for the first time in Zaporizhzhia," the regional governor Alexander Starukh wrote on Telegram. "The rockets landed in the area of the Zaporozhye-2 railway station."

He said that there had been no casualties.

Zaporizhzhia is situated some 230 kilometers (143 miles) northwest of Mariupol, which aid agencies say is facing a humanitarian catastrophe amid drastic water, food and power shortages.

Russia denies targeting civilians.

Ukraine's Kyiv hit by fresh shelling

Apartment buildings in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, have been hit by shrapnel from artillery fire, wounding two people, according to emergency services, as the city comes under intensified attack by Russian forces.

"Two residential buildings were damaged in an overnight bombardment in the central part of Kyiv, Shevchenkivskyi district. Two people reported wounded, 35 evacuated," the Ukrainian state emergency service said on Telegram.

"There was a loud bang. Then immediately some kind of white smoke that burnt the eyes and throat."

This 83-year-old woman woke up to discover her Kyiv home was badly damaged by shelling. Many of her neighbors have also been made homeless by Russian bombardment. pic.twitter.com/Fs5T8GChTD

— DW News (@dwnews) March 16, 2022

Journalists from the AFP news agency confirmed that several explosions took place in the city in the early morning on Wednesday.

Kyiv was placed under curfew late on Tuesday, with its mayor speaking of a "difficult and dangerous moment."