Ukraine says 31 killed as Russia fires 158 missiles, drones in 'biggest air attack' of the war

In what is dubbed Russia's biggest air attack of the war on Ukraine, at least 31 civilians were killed and more than 160 others were injured, according to officials.

In Kyiv alone, at least nine people were killed and 30 were injured after attacks targeted a warehouse, residential buildings and an uninhabited property, as per Reuters. However, Russia's UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said Moscow had targeted only military facilities, blaming Ukraine's air defense systems for the civilian casualties.

Ukrainian air force reportedly downed 87 cruise missiles and 27 drones out of the 158 aerial "targets" fired by Russia. Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said it was the "most massive air attack of this war" and involved 18 strategic bombers, reported the new agency.

Kyiv had earlier claimed that Moscow could be amassing missiles to launch air attacks on Ukraine's energy system during the winter, similar to the attacks in 2022. "It is obvious that with the stocks of missiles that the aggressor state has, it can and will continue such attacks," Reuters quoted Umerov as saying.

Meanwhile, Poland, a member of NATO, said a Russian missile seemingly flew into its airspace for some 40 km before returning to Ukraine under three minutes later. However, the Russian charge d'affaires, summoned to the Polish Foreign Ministry, said Warsaw did not have any proof of a Russian missile entering its airspace.