At least one person was killed and a dozen others injured when an apartment block in northern Kyiv was struck by what is suspected to be artillery bombardment as Russian soldiers inch closer to the capital's core.

"As of 7:40 a.m. (05:40 GMT), one person's body was discovered in a nine-story apartment building" in Kyiv's Obolon area, the emergency service said in a statement Monday, adding that three others were hospitalized and nine were treated on the scene.

The strike leveled many stories of flats, causing damage to both the front and back sides of the residential structure. Two men were spotted throwing off broken furniture and rubbish on one scorched balcony. On the sill of the balcony, one of them put a small Ukrainian flag.

"You can still smell the smoke," Al Jazeera's Imran Khan reported from the scene, adding that rescuers were still searching the structure for different bodies.

"Throughout the day, we've seen people return here in tears, simply looking at the building and their destroyed homes," Khan continued.

"This is a residential neighborhood. There is a football ground [quite close to the structure], but there is no military target here."

The United Nations maintains that at least 596 civilians have been killed since Russia's invasion began on February 24 but believes the actual toll is significantly higher because it has not substantiated accounts from areas experiencing intensive combat.

Russia denies targeting civilians, referring to its actions as a "special operation" aimed at demilitarizing and "de-Nazifying" Ukraine. Ukraine and Western allies dismiss this as a justification for waging a war of choice.

On Monday, city officials in Kyiv claimed two people were killed when Russian shelling hit an Antonov aircraft factory in the capital and an adjacent residential structure.

Russian soldiers "bombed a residential complex and the Antonov factory... Two persons have died and seven have been injured, according to a preliminary toll," city hall announced in a statement on its Telegram account.

Independent verification of the statement was not possible.

New conversations

The purported attacks occurred as officials from Ukraine and Russia prepared to hold the fourth round of negotiations.

According to one of Ukraine's negotiators, Mykhailo Podolyak, the virtual meeting will focus on negotiating a ceasefire, army withdrawals, and security assurances for Ukraine.

"Peace, an immediate cessation of hostilities, and the withdrawal of all Russian forces – and only then can we discuss regional relations and political differences," Podolyak said in a video statement broadcast to Twitter.

Meanwhile, Russian soldiers kept the pressure on Ukraine's capital while fighting raged in Irpin, Bucha, and Hostomel.

Russian troops also advanced closer to the southern port city of Mariupol, where officials estimate over 2,200 people have been dead.