Russia pounds Kyiv with missiles and drones in revenge for airbase attacks

Russia launched an overnight missile and drone barrage at Kyiv yesterday in response to Ukraine's surprise attack on its nuclear-capable bomber fleet.

- Daniel Boffey

Russia launched an overnight missile and drone barrage at Kyiv yesterday in response to Ukraine's surprise attack on its nuclear-capable bomber fleet. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Moscow had fired more than 400 drones and at least 40 missiles, which killed four people, including three emergency workers.

The Ukrainian president appealed to world leaders in a social media post: "If someone does not put pressure and gives the war more time to take lives, they are complicit and responsible. We need to act decisively."

Missiles and drones hammered the Ukrainian capital on Thursday evening and in the early hours of yesterday, sparking fires and transport shutdowns.

It was part of a nationwide assault that ranks among the largest coordinated attacks in the three years of full-scale war. About 50 people were injured across Ukraine. Yurii Ihnat, the Ukrainian air force spokesperson, said about 30 of the cruise missiles and up to 200 of the drones had been shot down.

Russia's defence ministry said its forces had carried out the attacks in response to what it called Ukrainian "terrorist acts".

The Kremlin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said: "For us it is an existential issue, an issue on our national interest, safety, on our future and the future of our children, of our country."