KYIV, Ukraine, Nov 15, (AP): Russia unleashed a major missile and drone barrage on Kyiv early Friday, killing six people, leaving gaping holes in apartment buildings and starting fires as the sound of explosions boomed across the city and lit up the night sky. A pregnant woman was among at least 35 people wounded, Ukrainian authorities said.

Russia used at least 430 drones and 18 missiles in the nighttime attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Russia has waged a devastating aerial campaign against Ukraine since its all-out invasion of its neighbor nearly four years ago. US-led diplomatic efforts this year to stop the fighting have so far come to nothing.

Friday's aerial assault, which also targeted Odesa in the south and Kharkiv in the northeast, was mostly aimed at Kyiv, where drones and missiles smashed into high-rise apartment blocks, according to Zelenskyy. It was "a specially calculated attack to cause as much harm as possible to people and civilians,” he said in a post on Telegram.

Moscow denies targeting civilian areas, with the Russian Defense Ministry saying Friday it carried out an overnight strike on Ukraine’s "military-industrial and energy facilities.” Ukrainian officials scoff at those claims, showing repeated damage to homes and public buildings. The attack was the biggest on Kyiv in almost three weeks.

Most recent Russian aerial attacks have aimed at electricity infrastructure around the country ahead of the bitter winter months. Ukraine used its American-made Patriot air defense systems to repel the attack and shot down 14 missiles, Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian leader has pleaded with foreign supporters to send more of the sophisticated systems.

Top European defense officials meeting in Berlin on Friday vowed to keep up their support for Ukraine. Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal joined the meeting remotely. The Azerbaijan Embassy in Kyiv was damaged by debris from an Iskander missile - a development that Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said was "unacceptable."

Azerbaijan is a key transport corridor for Russia’s trade with Iran and other partners in the Middle East. In the Odesa region, Russian drones struck a busy street on market day in Chornomorsk, killing two people and wounding 11 others, including a 19-month-old girl, regional military administration chief Oleh Kiper said. Kyiv residents told of harrowing escapes and near misses in the dead of night. Mariia Kalchenko said it was a miracle she survived after her building was hit.