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VENGEFUL Vladimir Putin has launched his 9th missile barrage on Ukraine in days as he intensifies his campaign to destroy Kyiv.
But the Russian President has again been left red-faced as Ukraine claims to have shot down all the deadly missiles directed at the capital.
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One person was killed and another two wounded in a strike on the Black Sea port city of Odesa, officials announced.
Explosions rattled across Ukraine as Russian strategic bombers over the Caspian Sea are suspected to have launched a series of cruise missiles.
Russia later deployed reconnaissance drones over the capital in the hopes of revelling in the devastation unleashed.
But the head of Kyiv‘s military administration, Serhiy Popko, declared that all enemy targets had been destroyed in a Telegram post.
“A series of air attacks on Kyiv, unprecedented in their power, intensity and variety, continues,” he said.
Most of Russia’s missiles were shot down over the sea by Air Defense Forces, although one industrial object was hit.
Falling debris from the destroyed artillery caused a fire to break out in a garage in the Darnytsya area of Kyiv, although no injuries were reported.
Popko said another blaze had also started in a non-residential building in the eastern Desnyansky district, but did not give further details.
The neutralisation of Putin’s ninth bombardment of the Ukrainian capital comes after an intense blitz just days ago.
Moscow claimed to have blown up the $1.1billion US Patriot missile system, which has proved a crucial bit of kit in protecting Kyiv.
However, Ukraine said six “unstoppable” Kinzhal missiles were shot down as the nation makes the most of its influx of Western defence systems.
The KH-47‘s, also known as Russian Daggers, are said to be capable of travelling 12 times the speed of sound – making it nearly impossible to detect and neutralised from a defensive position.
Kyiv claimed to have thwarted an entire barrage of hypersonic missiles with the US-made Patriot air defence system.
Earlier this month, Ukraine claimed to have shot down a single Kinzhal over Kyiv for the first time.
The missiles, which can reach speeds of over 7,000mph and have regularly been unleashed by Putin in the Ukraine war, can be loaded with up to 1,000 pounds of explosives or even a nuclear warhead.
Putin himself has touted the Kinzhal as an unstoppable force that could even take on NATO – but he now only has 73 left to use.
But Russia furiously insisted Monday’s onslaught of missiles and drones had all hit their intended targets.
War-hungry Putin is said to have ordered the unprecedented strikes this week in a tantrum response to the UK sending “game changer” Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine.
The latest influx of supplies for the battlefield enraged the President, with his spokesman vowing there would be an “adequate response”.
The latest attacks are deemed as a clear escalation as the world awaits Kyiv’s highly anticipated counter-offensive – with suggestions they could launch a major operation and even push into Crimea.
Putin was dealt another blow on Thursday as a massive explosion derailed a train in the occupied territory in another sabotage attack.
Pictures show the carriages spilled over the embankment after the reported blast close to the city of Sevastopol in Crimea.
Russia has been barraged in recent months by a wave of suspicious explosions, fires and more apparent acts of sabotage.
It is suspected to either be the work of Russian partisans striking against Putin’s regime or clandestine operations by Kyiv.
And retaking Crimea is seen as the key objective for defeating Russia.
Putin illegally annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 in response to the revolution which saw Kyiv pivot towards the West.
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Olivia Burke
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