Barrage of rush-hour missiles hits Ukraine

Russia launched a rush-hour barrage of missiles towards Ukraine yesterday, killing at least one person, the day after Kyiv secured Western pledges of dozens of modern battle tanks to try to push back the Russian invasion.

Moscow reacted with fury to the German and American announcements, and has in the past responded with air strikes that have left millions without light, heat or water.

The Ukrainian military said it had shot down all 24 Russian drones sent overnight, including 15 around the capital, with no damage reported.

But soon after, air raid alarms sounded across Ukraine, and senior officials said air defenses were shooting down incoming missiles.

The Kremlin said it saw the promised delivery of Western tanks to Ukraine as "direct involvement" of the United States and Europe, something both deny.

In the capital, crowds of people took cover in underground metro stations.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said one person had been killed and two wounded when a missile hit non-residential buildings.

DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy producer, said it was conducting emergency power shutdowns around Kyiv, Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk because of imminent danger.

In Odessa, the Black Sea port designated a "World Heritage in Danger" by UNESCO, the Russian missiles damaged energy infrastructure.

Western analysts say the attacks on Ukraine's cities are more an attempt to break morale than a strategic campaign.

Both sides are expected to mount new ground offensives come spring, as Ukraine awaits sophisticated western tanks.

Ukraine and Russia have so far relied primarily on Soviet-era T-72 tanks.

"The key now is speed and volumes. Speed in training our forces, speed in supplying tanks to Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his video address.

Zelensky had asked NATO for long-range missiles and aircraft.