The capital of Ukraine has been subjected to a barrage of air attacks by Russia overnight.
Missiles and drones rained down on Kyiv just hours after president Volodymyr Zelensky‘s visit to the UK.
Ukraine said all 18 missiles were shot down and footage showed air defences destroying targets over the city.
At least three people were injured in the onslaught, described by one official as ‘exceptional in density’.
The air raid alert sounded at around 02:30 local time (23:30 GMT Monday) and was lifted two hours later in the eighth attack to hit the capital this month.
Loud explosions sounded above the city as Putin launched the intense air attack using a combination of drones, cruise missiles and possible ballistic missiles.
Russia has stepped up its air campaign in recent weeks, ahead of an expected Ukrainian offensive in the south.
Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration, said it was the ‘maximum number of attacking missiles in the shortest period of time’.
Debris fell across several districts in the capital.
Videos on social media showed air defence systems shooting down missiles overhead.
In the Solomyansky district, the debris caused a fire in a non-residential building, which was later put out.
Debris set cars on fire and fell on the grounds of a zoo, but no losses were reported, said Kyiv mayor, Vitali Klitschko.
Mr Popko was unable to provide an exact number of how many missiles the Ukrainian air defence managed to bring down.
He said: ‘According to preliminary information, the vast majority of enemy targets in the airspace of Kyiv were detected and destroyed.’
It’s the eighth time this month Russian air raids have targeted the capital in a clear escalation after a quieter few weeks ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Kyiv residents were warned to keep away from windows as debris from intercepted missiles fell from the sky.
The Solomyansky district, which includes the international airport, is reported to have been the hardest hit.
Mr Popko said that a fire that broke out in a non-residential in the district has since been put out.Russia’s resumption of strikes on Kyiv earlier this month came after a lull of over 50 days.
The Ukrainian authorities believe Moscow’s strategy is to exhaust the air defence systems, which have been extremely successful in intercepting most of the missiles and drones fired.
