RUSSIA has launched 122 missiles and 36 drones against Ukrainian targets, killing at least 30 civilians in what officials have said was the biggest aerial barrage of the 22-month war.
The Ukrainian air force intercepted 87 of the missiles and 27 of the Shahed-type drones overnight, Ukraine’s military chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said.
Meanwhile, air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his official Telegram channel that it had been the “most massive aerial attack” since Russia’s full-scale invasion started in February 2022.
Responding to the news on social media, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “These widespread attacks on Ukraine’s cities show Putin will stop at nothing to achieve his aim of eradicating freedom and democracy.
“We will not let him win. We must continue to stand with Ukraine – for as long as it takes.”
According to the Ukrainian air force, the previous biggest assault was in November 2022 when Russia launched 96 missiles against Ukraine.
This year, the biggest was 81 missiles on March 9, air force records show.
Fighting along the front line has been largely bogged down by winter weather after Ukraine’s summer counter-offensive failed to make a significant breakthrough along the roughly 620-mile line of contact.
Ukrainian officials have urged the country’s Western allies to provide it with more air defences to protect itself against such aerial attacks.
READ MORE: David Pratt: I hope I’m wrong about the year ahead as war rages on
Their appeals have come as signs of war fatigue strain efforts to keep support in place.
At least 88 people were injured and an unknown number were buried under rubble during the roughly 18-hour onslaught, Ukrainian officials said.
Among the buildings reported to be damaged across Ukraine were a maternity hospital, apartment blocks and schools.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Kremlin’s forces used a wide variety of weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles.
“Today, Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its arsenal,” Zelenskyy (below) said on X.
Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said Russia “apparently launched everything they have,” except for submarine-launched Kalibr missiles, in the attack.
The aerial attack that began on Thursday and continued through the night hit six cities, including the capital, Kyiv, and other areas from east to west and north to south Ukraine, according to authorities.
Reports of deaths and damage came in from across the country.
Five people were killed and 20 injured in the eastern city of Dnipro where four maternity hospital patients were rescued from a fire, officials said.
In Odesa, on the southern coast, falling drone wreckage started a fire at a multi-storey residential building, according to the regional head, Oleh Kiper. Two people were killed and 15, including two children, were injured in the course of the Odesa attack, he said.
READ MORE: Maine bars Donald Trump from presidential primary ballot
The mayor of the western city of Lviv, Andrii Sadovyi, said one person was killed and eight injured and three schools and a kindergarten were damaged in a drone attack in the region.
Several dozen missiles were launched towards Kyiv during the night, with more than 30 of them intercepted, said Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration.
The attack started a fire at a warehouse in the capital’s Podil district where five people reportedly were pulled from the rubble. Three people were killed in the capital.
In north-eastern Ukraine, Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said the city was subjected to at least three waves of aerial attacks overnight that included S-300 and Kh-21 missile launches. One person was killed and at least nine injured, officials said.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here