KYIV, Ukraine - A Russian drone attack hit a residential building and injured at least two people in Kyiv on Thursday, authorities said, in a rare breach of the Ukrainian capital's air defences.

Russian missiles and drones frequently target Kyiv but are usually shot down, with the incident the first of its kind in months.

Air raid sirens blared in the evening and residents heard loud explosions. City hall initially said air defences were in action and called on people to stay in shelters.

"A residential building in Kyiv hit by a Shahed," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram, referring to the Iranian-made drones often used by Russia in its attacks on Ukraine.

The attack also affected Solomianskyi district, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram, reporting "flames on the upper floors".

One man was hospitalised, while another person was treated at the scene, he added.

Kyiv's military administration published photos on social media of apartment buildings with windows blown out, saying debris from a downed drone had caused the damage rather than a strike.

Klitschko also said debris from another downed drone fell on a house in the Darnytskyi district in the east of the city.

In the Holosiivskyi district in the city's south, a piece of shrapnel from a downed drone fell on a high-rise building without causing any casualties, the military administration said on Telegram.

The Ukrainian air force said several groups of drones were moving towards the centre, west and south of the country.