Kiev, Mar 14 (IANS): At least two people were killed on Monday after a nine-story apartment building in Kiev was struck by Russian shelling, Ukraine's State Emergency Service (SES) said.

The building has been partially destroyed between the ground floor and the second floor, and a fire broke out on the second and third floors, reports Ukrayinska Pravda citing the SES as saying.

The SES said three people have been hospitalised, and nine others were treated on the spot.

SES units have rescued 15 people and evacuated 63 people, while a search for more possible victims buried continues.

In another development also in Kiev, the city administration has said that an Antonov aircraft "plant", not Antonov Airport, has come under fire by Russian forces, reports the BBC.

The Antonov aircraft manufacturing facility is located at Sviatoshyn Airfield, about 10 km from the Kiev city centre.

Videos circulating on social media show a thick plume of dark smoke above the factory.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the SES has confirmed that a rocket strike on the town of Stavysche in the Zhytomyr region has left at least 4 people injured, while an airstrike has damaged a TV tower near Rivne.

The two incidents also took place on Monday.

Meanwhile, air raid sirens could be heard in many regions across the country - from Lviv and Transcarpathia to Kharkiv and Odessa.