Russia launched its biggest blitz on Ukraine since the initial invasion air-strikes began with more than 80 cruise missiles and 24 drones launched across the country.
Widespread attacks on seven cities including Kyiv killed at least 11 and wounded at least 87 as parts of the capital were left in flames during one terrifying rush-hour salvo.
Among those killed in Kyiv were the head of the police cyber force Colonel Yuri Zaskov as the death toll from attacks was expected to rise.
The US embassy ordered all citizens to take to bunkers and then flee Ukraine as soon as the all-clear was issued but the Red Cross vowed to “remain in Ukraine.”
Explosions were reported in Lviv, Ternopil and Zhytomyr in western Ukraine, Dnipro and Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia in the south and Kharkiv in the east.
Missiles continued to fall on Ukraine late into the afternoon and swathes of the country were left without power as residents fled to bunkers throughout the day.
Dozens of cruise missiles fired from air, land and sea marked the biggest wave of strikes to hit locations away from the front line, at least since the Feb. 24 invasion started.
Suspected Iran-made explosive drones were also launched, with 13 of them shot down and more than 40 missiles hit by Ukraine’s ground-to-air defences.
Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested in a TV address it was a revenge attack for Kyiv blowing up his Kerch bridge, linking annexed Crimea to Russia.
In a deluded rant he said: “The Kyiv regime, with its actions, has put itself on the same level as international terrorist organisations. With the most odious groups.
“To leave such acts without a response is simply impossible.”
He confirmed he had ordered “massive” long range strikes and warned of more strikes in future if Ukraine hits Russian territory.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the attacks were deliberately timed to kill people, as well as to knock out Ukraine’s power grid.
His prime minister said 11 major infrastructure targets were hit in eight regions, leaving swaths of the country with no electricity, water or heat.
Zelensky said: “They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth.”
In Kyiv there were horrific scenes - the dead body of a man lying in the street, flaming cars and destruction and women lying bleeding nearby.
The Kremlin was humiliated two days ago when a blast damaged Europe’s longest bridge, which it had built after it seized and annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014.
But the escalation drew widespread condemnation with the UK Prime Minister calling for the “further isolation of Russia”.
Downing Street condemned the “needless and senseless violence” in Ukraine.
UK Prime Minister Liz Truss ”strongly condemned Putin’s appalling attacks on civilian area in Kyiv and elsewhere.”
Her spokesman said: “We are keeping a close eye on these increasingly reckless tactics being used by Russia in response to Ukraine’s advance.”
By mid-morning, Ukraine’s defence ministry said Russia had fired 81 cruise missiles, and Ukraine’s air defences had shot down 43 of them.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky filmed a video message on a mobile phone on an empty central Kyiv street.
He said the strikes had two main targets: energy infrastructure and people.
“Such a time and such targets were specially chosen to cause as much damage as possible,” he said.
Later he added: “The world once again saw the true face of a terrorist state that is killing our people.”
His Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted: “Putin is a terrorist who talks with missiles.”
Olena Somyk, 41, sheltered with her 6-year-old daughter, Daria, in an underground garage where hundreds of other people waited for the all-clear.
She said: ““Really, I think they did this because they are b******s.
“Putin is a small angry man, so we don’t know what more to expect.”
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly offered the UK’s “ongoing moral and practical support” to his counterpart in Kyiv, Kuleba.
He said: “Russia’s firing of missiles into civilian areas of Ukraine is unacceptable.
“This is a demonstration of weakness by Putin, not strength.”
UK Security minister Tom Tugendhat added: “Targeting civilians is a vile act.
“Russian war crimes start as a record of failure and disgrace.”
The UK’s ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons said British staff in Kyiv were safe and said her thoughts are with those hurt in the city.
President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus has ordered troops to deploy jointly with Russian forces near Ukraine It was also claimed more than 1,000 Iranian-made drone missiles have been transported from Russia to Belarus.
Russia has faced major setbacks on the battlefield since the start of September, with Ukrainian forces bursting through front lines and recapturing territory.
Putin responded to the losses by ordering a mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of reservists, proclaiming the annexation of occupied territory and threatening repeatedly to use nuclear weapons.
But tens of thousands of Russians have fled the country to avoid the draft, fearing death in the Ukrainian killing fields.
And there have been widespread protests against the threat of being press-ganged into war by Putin, with draft offices being torched and protest marches throughout Russian cities.
