KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian air defences were engaged on Monday in repelling a rare daytime Russian missile attack on the capital Kyiv and other cities across the country, local authorities said.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported explosions in the city and urged residents to stay in shelters.

He said on the Telegram messaging app that ambulances were heading to one of the districts in central Kyiv, but gave no immediate details on the damage or casualties.

Unverified social media videos showed rising clouds of smoke across the city.

Local media also reported explosions in Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih and Kropyvnytskyi in central Ukraine.

"Attack on Ukraine at a time when there are the most people on the streets. Crazy Russian terrorists," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak wrote on the Telegram messaging app during the attack.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash and Anastasiia Malensko; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Sharon Singleton)