Russia bombards Ukrainian cities

Ukraine said it shot down 34 of the 81 missiles during the strike, which killed 5 people and caused blackouts

Russia launched a devastating bombardment against cities across Ukraine, killing at least five people and casting hundreds of thousands more into sporadic blackouts with a new mix of weapons that mostly evaded air defences.

The strike was unusual in the number of expensive, high-end missiles used, raising the difficult to answer the question of why Russian planners decided to deploy them in such numbers now.

Ukraine said it shot down 34 of the 81 missiles fired, a lower than usual proportion because the barrage included three classes of weapon against which it has no defence.

They included six Kinzhals, which military analysts assess to be a version of the nuclear-capable Iskander ballistic missile adapted for launch from an aircraft. This was the largest number of Kinzhals Russia has used in a single air strike to date.

All got through, along with six KH-22 anti-ship missiles and 13 S-300 anti-aircraft missiles adapted for use against land targets, according to Ukraine's Air Force.