Large-scale Russian missile attacks ‘reconnaissance’ for future offensive

People take shelter inside a metro station in Kyiv during Russian missile attacks, the first major assault on the country for two weeks. Photograph: Vladyslav Musiienko/Reuters

Russia launched a large-scale missile attack in Ukraine on Friday, striking several cities including the capital, Kyiv, in an apparent attempt to probe the country’s air defences and to intimidate Ukraine’s allies.

Ukraine’s air force command said it had shot down 61 out of 70 cruise missiles and five Iranian-made drones. The figures included an earlier wave of 35 S-300 rockets fired on Thursday night. These landed in and around the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.