Vitali Klitschko

Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Sunday morning, striking at least two residential buildings, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, as elsewhere Russian troops consolidated their gains in the east.

Associated Press journalists in Kiev saw rescue services battling flames and rescuing civilians. Klitschko said two people were hospitalized with injuries.

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Powerful explosions shook Kyiv

Powerful explosions were heard this morning in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Reuters reported. Eyewitnesses also reported smoke over the city.

A barrage of Russian missiles struck Ukraine's capital early Sunday, hitting unspecified "infrastructure" targets, Kiev's mayor said. No one was reported killed, with one person hospitalized with injuries.

But the attack shattered a sense of calm in Kiev, which hadn't seen similar strikes since the April 28 visit of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Russian forces renewed missile strikes on Kiev and intensified shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, in an apparent strategy to hobble Ukraine's defenses in preparation for what is expected to be a full-scale Russian assault in the east.

A Russian missile hit a high-rise apartment building in Kyiv.

The mayor of the city Vitali Klitschko said that according to initial data, 35 people, including 2 children, were injured.

Some of the apartments in the building are completely destroyed.

Mayor of the Ukrainian capital Vitali Klitschko announced that schools and universities in the city will be closed from tomorrow until the end of March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Reuters reported.

KIEV - Social Democratic Party of Serbia (SDS) leader Boris Tadic has met with Ukrainian officials in Kiev to discuss possible solutions to the Ukrainian crisis, noting that that the solutions can only be found through an agreement between Russia and the West that takes the interests of both sides into account.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has proposed that early parliamentary polls be held in the country and that steps be taken toward decentralization, official say.

The recently-elected head of state believes changes in power are still on the society's agenda, ITAR-TASS has reported citing the Ukrainian Presidency's press service.

Former heavyweight boxer Vitali Klitschko looks set to become the new mayor of Kiev, according to exit polls.

Klitschko, the leader of UDAR party and outspoken supporter of the Maidan protests, receives about 57% of the votes in Sunday's elections for mayor, according to exit polls.

Moscow "ready for dialogue" with Poroshenko

MOSCOW -- Russia is ready for dialogue with Petro Poroshenko, elected as Ukraine's president on Sunday, "but no mediators are necessary," Itar-Tass is reporting.

The news agency quoted a statement issued by Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov on Monday.