Vladimir Putin launches hypersonic attack in worst raid since Alaska summit

Vladimir Putin has unleashed a deadly barrage of hypersonic missiles in his most destructive raid since last week's Alaska summit with Donald Trump.

NATO was forced to scramble fighter aircraft in neighbouring Poland once again last night after Russia fired more than 600 Shahed kamikaze drones, dozens of Kh-101 and Kalibr cruise missiles and Iskander-M ballistic missiles at Ukraine. The strikes again raise major doubts as to Putin’s readiness to engage in peace talks as the White House continues to push for direct talks between the Russian dictator and Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Russian assault - one of the heaviest of the three-and-a-half year war - was felt across Ukraine, and involved up to six Tu-95MS and Tu-160 nuclear-capable strategic bombers and four MiG fighters.

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It is estimated that Putin blew around £320 million of Russian state cash on his latest strikes.

The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces announced the scrambling of NATO jets just one day after a Russian drone fell in eastern Poland.

A statement read: “Due to the activity of the Russian Federation's long-range air forces conducting strikes on Ukrainian territory – including using hypersonic missiles – aircraft of the Air Force and Allied aircraft are operating in Polish airspace,” said a statement.

Commanders "activated all available forces and resources" and placed air defence and radar reconnaissance systems at their "highest level of alert."

In Lviv, Ukraine, one person died and two more were injured as a result of the Russian strikes. Dozens of houses were damaged, according to Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, as Putin’s forces sought to strike fear into civilian targets.

In Mukachevo, in the Transcarpathia region, a missile hit the Flex electronics factory and started a large fire, with warehouses hit and a dozen injured. Residents were ordered to close windows due to the large fire and choking smoke.

Hypersonic missiles hit Rivne and Dubno in the wave of new strikes, and explosions were reported in the Ivano-Frankivsk and Vinnytsia regions. Kyiv was also hit by the overnight onslaught, with residents forced into underground Metro stations for protection. Some 25 Shahed drones struck Yurivka in Ukrainian-held Donetsk region, igniting a gas pipeline, triggering a huge fire.

In Dnipro, Zircon hypersonic missiles targeted the city and surrounding region and a major gas storage facility was hit in Pavlohrad, triggering an enormous inferno. Gas infrastructure was also hit in the Kehychivka district of the Kharkiv region. In Zaporizhzhia, strikes hit industrial infrastructure.

Sumy border region was hit by drones and ballistic missiles, and Cherkasy was targeted. The attacks came as Russian troops continued to advance slowly but surely across a wide frontline.

Ukraine, in turn, hit back at Russia - destroying a major oil refinery in Novoshakhtinsk, Rostov region. Recent attacks have already reduced Putin’s production capacity by 13%, causing shortages and price rises.

NASA satellites indicated a strike on military unit Number 95408 of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, occupied Crimea, resulting in a major fire.

Reports said this was a base for Putin’s elite GRU military intelligence. Locals complained they were being “treated like fools” when officials claimed the thunderous explosions were exercises by Russian troops.

There were mass train delays in Voronezh region due to a Ukrainian strike on railway facilities. A Russian boat was destroyed near Zaliznyi port in Kherson region by a missile strike after laser illumination by a drone.