Russian forces have launched a major drone and missile attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv overnight, killing at least eight people, officials say.

Several neighbourhoods were evacuated as strikes rocked buildings throughout the city, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Russia was preparing for a "massive" attack.

Children were among the "significant number" of casualties, Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv's ​military administration, said.

"The enemy is once again deliberately targeting residential areas and killing civilians," he said in the early hours of Thursday.

On Thursday morning, daylight brought clearer images of a crater which appeared to be caused by the impact of an explosions.

Smouldering cars, buildings and infrastructure could also be seen next to bombed-out debris.

Multiple fires broke out across the city and damage was reported at an ambulance station in the city, which left at least one person critically injured.

Firefighters were also dousing a blaze destroying a hotel on a central boulevard.

Overnight, tracer fire from air defence systems were spotted lighting up the sky, and explosions from drones, cruise and ballistic missiles were heard.

Ukraine's US ambassador Olha Stefanishyna wrote in a post on X: "Another horrific night for the residents of the city, who were forced to spend it in shelters."

"Fires and the destruction of civilian infrastructure and residential buildings in several districts of the city."

It marks the first large-scale missile and drone strike by Russia on Ukraine in more than a two weeks.

On Wednesday, Zelensky cut short his visit to Dublin after he said fresh intelligence had emerged suggesting that Moscow was planning to strike Ukraine.

"I urge our people to be especially careful, to protect themselves, their children, and, of course, their families," he said.

He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin "has been preparing this massive strike against Ukraine for some time now".

Poland has also activated fighter jets to protect its airspace, describing it as a "preventative" measure. There are no reports of attacks on Polish territory.

"These actions are of a preventive nature and are aimed at securing and protecting the airspace, especially in areas adjacent to the threatened regions," Poland's military wrote on X.

Poland is a member of Nato, a signatory to the military alliance's Article 5 provision that states "an armed attack against one Nato member shall be considered an attack against them all"

Russian troops recently advanced into the city of Kostyantynivka, one of Ukraine's last key bulwarks in the east. If Moscow secures the city, it would provide a gateway to the entire Donbas region.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian commanders say they have recaptured more territory this year than they have lost, disrupting Moscow's crucial supply lines between the Russian border and occupied Crimea.

The war has otherwise stalled for months with each side's troops largely entrenched in their positions.

Russia controls approximately one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, mostly seized in the first few months of its full-scale invasion in February, 2022.