Russia-Ukraine updates: Russian missiles hit close to nuclear reactors: IAEA director

A series of Russian missiles struck a residential area of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sunday morning, local officials said.

"Friends! Search and rescue operations are underway in a residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district where a missile hit," Mayo Vitaliy Klychko said on Telegram. "There are people under the rubble. Some residents were evacuated, two victims were hospitalized. Rescuers continue to work, medics are on site."

At least one residential building appeared to have had sections of its facade sheared off, photos from the scene showed. Emergency responders could be seen working on the upper floors of the building as smoke rose into the morning sky.

"Several explosions in the Shevchenkivskyi district," Klychko said. "Ambulance crews and rescuers on the spot. Residents are being rescued and evacuated in two houses."

At least one missile was shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the Kyiv regional administration, said on Telegram.

"The remains of the missile fell on the outskirts of one of the villages in the area," Kuleba said.

-ABC News' Natalia Kushnir

Ukrainian forces plan to retreat from the city of Severodonetsk, following weeks of fighting.

The local governor said Friday morning “it doesn’t make sense” to hold onto the city and “the number of people killed will increase every day," in a statement on Telegram.

The city has faced a heavy bombardment of rockets and street-to-street fighting between Ukrainian and Russia troops for weeks.

Ukrainian officials said nearly 90% of buildings in Severodonetsk have been destroyed.

It’s believed 8,000 civilians remain. At one point, hundreds of civilians sheltered in a chemical plant.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

The European Council has granted Ukraine and Moldova candidate status for EU membership, European Council President Charles Michel tweeted.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the announcement on Twitter, calling it a "unique and historical moment," adding, "Ukraine's future is within the EU."

It could take years for Ukraine to become an EU member. Five other countries that have been granted candidate status are currently negotiating their EU membership: Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey.

Russian forces are advancing toward the city of Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region, putting the Lysychansk-Severodonetsk pocket "under increasing pressure," the British Defense Ministry said. Some Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from Lysychansk, "probably to avoid being encircled," the officials said.

The Ukrainian army claims Ukrainian soldiers stopped the Russian offensive in the southern outskirts of Lysychansk on Thursday, inflicting losses and forcing them to retreat, and that to resume the offensive, Russian forces put forward reserves.

-ABC News' Fidel Pavlenko