Five dead, 127 hurt in Russian strikes on Ukraine’s main cities

At least five civilians have been killed and 127 injured in Russia’s latest missile and drone strikes on Ukraine, prompting Kyiv to urge western allies to send more air defence systems urgently to shield cities and infrastructure from further attack during winter.

Ukraine said it shot down all 35 explosive drones and 72 of 99 ballistic and cruise missiles launched by Moscow’s forces early on Tuesday, four days after at least 39 civilians were killed in Russia’s biggest bombardment of its neighbour since the start of its all-out invasion in February 2022.

The latest barrage focused on Ukraine’s two largest cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv, and damaged residential areas and the energy grid. Power firms said some 260,000 apartments in Kyiv suffered blackouts, but electricity to all of them was restored by Tuesday afternoon.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned what he called “another attack by Russian savages” and thanked all states that have provided air defence systems to his country – including the US-made Patriot complexes that were credited with shooting down at least 10 advanced Russian “Kinzhal” ballistic missiles on Tuesday.

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“I thank everyone in the world who helps us… Each of these systems has already saved at the very least hundreds of lives. And for every life taken, Russia will be held accountable,” he said.

Ukraine’s top general, Valery Zaluzhnyi, said the destruction of 10 Kinzhals in one day was “a record” that had averted the “catastrophic” consequences of them hitting their targets. Before Patriots began downing Kinzhals over Ukraine, the Kremlin said the “hypersonic” missile could not be stopped by western weapons.

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said on the social media platform X that the Kremlin was “escalating terror” against his country and called on “all states to strongly condemn the attack and take resolute action”.

He urged the West to “expedite the delivery of additional air defence systems and ammunition to Ukraine; provide Ukraine with combat drones of all types; provide Ukraine with long-range missiles of 300 km+ range; approve the use of frozen Russian assets for assisting Ukraine; isolate Russian diplomats in relevant capitals and international organisations”.

The Kremlin denies bombing civilian infrastructure but argues that Ukraine’s energy grid and associated facilities are legitimate targets because they power its war effort.

“The Russian armed forces carried out a group strike using high-precision long-range weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles on Ukrainian defence industry facilities in Kyiv and its suburbs… All targets were hit,” the defence ministry in Moscow said on Tuesday.

Officials in Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said 17 Ukrainian missiles were shot down on Tuesday and one local civilian was killed and five hurt. On Saturday, they said 25 civilians had been killed in a Ukrainian strike on Belgorod.

Hundreds of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and injured in Russia’s invasion, and millions of Ukrainian civilians have been displaced.

Kyiv insists that it will liberate all occupied territory, while Moscow says no settlement is possible until Ukraine accepts the Russian takeover of swathes of its land.