NATO warplanes were raised as Vladimir Putin’s bombers launched a record-breaking strike on Ukraine.
The Russian tyrant launched 93 missiles and around 200 drones overnight in ground-freezing attacks.
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Ukrainians took shelter in subway stations during the night attack Credit: Reuters
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Missiles and drones targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructureCredit: East2West
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Vladimir Putin claims he wants peace, but continues to attack UkraineCredit: Alamy
About 11 of the 81 destroyed missiles were shot down by F-16 aircraft provided by friends from NATO, Volodymyr Zelensky claims.
Kiev says it also shot down 80 of the 193 drones, but some power plants appear to have been heavily damaged in the attack.
Authorities across the country imposed regular power cuts despite -5C conditions in the capital.
Residents of Kiev gathered in the underground railway stations warmed up and waited for the flash to end.
A massive Russian attack was expected, but there were no immediate reports of the deployment of the dreaded Oresnik medium-range ballistic missile, as predicted.
Instead, Ukraine was hit by Iskander, Kalibr, Kinzhal missiles and Iranian-designed Shahed kamikaze drones.
The missiles were fired from Tu-95MS and MiG-31K strategic bombers deep in Russia.
Parts of Kyiv are now without power as the city’s subway is down.
Energy Minister German Galushchenko said workers are now trying to prevent further damage to the system after the strikes.
He said: “The enemy continues his terror.
Ukraine brings war to Putin’s crazed henchman as a powerful explosion echoes through the headquarters of special forces
“Once again, [the power sector] the whole of Ukraine is under massive attacks.”
Some of the attacks took place in the west of the country, prompting Poland to put its military on high alert and raise its planes.
Zelensky has now condemned Putin for the attack and his claims that he wants peace.
The brave leader said: “This is how he wants ‘negotiations’ – terrorizing millions of people.
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Residents of Kiev took shelter inside a metro station Credit: Reuters
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One missile was destroyed over the southwestern city of OdessaCredit: East2West
“Oil gives Putin enough money to believe in impunity. A strong world reaction is needed: a mass strike – a mass reaction. This is the only way to stop terror.
“We need the ‘Patriots’ to shoot down these missiles and prove that terror will not achieve its goal.”
Moscow claimed the mega-bombing was revenge for Ukraine’s latest attack by US ATACMS missiles.
The Kremlin said Kiev used six ATACMS to hit an aircraft repair center in Taganrog, more than 130 miles from the nearest Ukrainian territory.
ATACMS missiles have a range of 190 miles.
Unconfirmed reports said the £260 million Beriev A-50 radar aircraft and the Ilyushin-80 command and control aircraft known as the “flying Kremlin” were at the site they destroyed.
Ukraine shot down two A-50s in a major strike against the Russian Air Force in January and February of this year.
Long-range missiles are key to Ukraine and its ability to disrupt Putin’s war machine, it says.
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Ukraine’s defense forces used a searchlight to hunt drones in the sky last nightCredit: Reuters
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Residents of Kiev bundle up warmly to fight the flash as temperatures dropCredit: Reuters
But their use has been hotly debated because Russia promises revenge and some Westerners think they are too strong.
In late November, Trump told Time: “I strongly disagree with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing this?”
Both US ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles were used to strike Russian territory for the first time since last month.
Putin praised his Oresnik super-weapon and threatened to fire another hypersonic missile at Ukraine.
The mad dictator threatened to blow parts of Kiev “to dust” after launching it into the Dnipro last month.
But insiders claimed that the missile was a disaster and that Putin’s threats were just propaganda.
It came after a Ukrainian drone detonated in mid-air over an elite forces facility in Grozny, Chechnya’s capital, an area controlled by local warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.
Military regiments of the police special forces named after Kadyrov’s murdered father Akhmat, who previously ruled the region, were damaged in the attack.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky harshly criticized Russia for the attackCredit: AFP
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