(Reuters) -Russian drones struck a district of Kyiv just outside the city centre early on Thursday, with authorities reporting damage to an apartment and garages being set ablaze, but no injuries.

Air defences were in operation after midnight in the Ukrainian capital.

Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said an apartment had been badly damaged and garages had been set on fire in the Holosiivskyi district.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said falling drone fragments had triggered the fires. Emergency crews were on their way to the scene.

Air raid alerts remained in effect in Kyiv and through most of central and southern Ukraine for more than an hour.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Tom Hogue)