Russian missiles slammed into cities in Ukraine today, leaving thousands without electricity and water in a second day of attacks that have killed at least 23 people.
The air strikes by cruise missiles and explosive drones also wounded over 100 people as the West accused Vladimir Putin of targeting civilians.
In Lviv, 30% of the city was affected by power cuts and thousands were left with no water after three explosions.
Ukraine ’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said today's bomb strikes on power and water infrastructure were “war crimes” which aimed to create “unbearable conditions for civilians”.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg accused Russia of “horrific and indiscriminate attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure”.
Military expert Professor Michael Clarke told Sky News: “The Russians are condemning the Ukrainians to a pretty miserable existence in the winter.”
The West is scrambling to supply more air defence systems to Ukraine with Germany and the US promising weapons within hours of the Lviv attack.
Streets in Kyiv were largely deserted as air-raid sirens blared at the start of rush hour today, and thousands took shelter in underground bunkers.
Kyiv resident Viktoriya Moshkivski, 35, and her family were among hundreds waiting for the all-clear in the Zoloti Vorota station, near a park bombed on Monday. She said: “Putin thinks if he scares the population, he can ask for concessions, but he is not scaring us. He is p***ing us off.”
In Zaporizhzhia, missiles have struck apartment blocks overnight at least three times in the past week, killing civilians as they slept.
A missile also hit Vinnytsia in central Ukraine, injuring three people and seriously damaging critical infrastructure.
Ukraine’s Deputy Interior Minister Yevheniy Yenin said: “They’ve hit many [targets] yesterday and they hit the same and new ones today.” He said hundreds of settlements around Kyiv, Lviv and elsewhere were without power.
But as many as 20 Russian cruise missiles and 13 explosive drones were blown out of the sky. Iranian-made Shahed drones have been sent from Russia to Belarus, which is forming a joint military brigade with Russia, but its 50,000 troops are badly trained and equipped.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine would fight on. He said: “We will make the battlefield more painful for the enemy.”
The air strikes, seen as revenge for an explosion on Kerch Bridge linking Russia to Crimea, come as Russian troops are being beaten back in the east and south.
Sir Jeremy Fleming, head of the UK’s listening station GCHQ, said his organisation was “very proud” of the role the UK
had played in Ukraine’s defence.
He told the BBC that Russia was running short of munitions and troops and GCHQ would expect to see indicators if Putin was considering deploying its nuclear arsenal in the war.
Ukraine today called on Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi to take “all possible measures” to free the deputy head of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after he was kidnapped by Russian forces.
Putin today met United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Saint Petersburg. The Sheikh said he had “affirmed” the UEA’s aim to “reduce tensions and find diplomatic solutions to crises” in situations such as the war in Ukraine.
Russia faces a UN vote condemning its annexation of four Ukraine regions this week. Western officials believe they will win to leave Moscow “very bruised and isolated” on the international stage.
