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Russia unleashed its "most massive aerial attack" across Ukraine since the beginning of the war in February 2022, launching 122 missiles and dozens of drones, officials said Friday. The missile attacks killed at least 27 civilians and injured at least 144 people, not counting those buried under the rubble.
Authorities say the death toll will likely rise.
Hypersonic, cruise and ballistic missiles, including X-22 type, which are extremely hard to intercept, were used, said Ukraine's Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat in televised comments.
Blasts were reported in Kyiv, the northern city of Kharkiv, western Lviv, eastern Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and the port city of Odesa.
The scale of the attack surpassed the previous largest assault, when Russia launched 96 missiles in November 2022, and this year's previous largest attack of 81 missiles on March 9, according to Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on X: "Today, Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its arsenal: 'Kindzhals,' S-300s, cruise missiles, and drones ... with the majority of them being shot down."
Zelenskyy said a maternity hospital was among the targets of Russia's strike. Other targets included "educational facilities, a shopping mall, multi-story residential buildings and private homes, a commercial storage and a parking lot."
Biden, Sunak call for continued Ukraine aid
In a statement Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden called the attack "a stark reminder to the world that, after nearly two years of this devastating war, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's objective remains unchanged," seeking to obliterate Ukraine and subjugate its people.
Biden said that Putin "must be stopped."
The U.S. president said that although the United States has aided Ukraine's war effort so far, Congress must step up its efforts and approve more aid "without any further delay" or "we will not be able to continue sending the weapons and vital air defense systems Ukraine needs to protect its people."
Biden said, "The stakes of this fight extend far beyond Ukraine. They affect the entirety of the NATO alliance, the security of Europe and the future of the transatlantic relationship," adding that the United States has rallied a coalition of more than 50 countries to support the defense of Ukraine.
"We cannot let our allies and partners down. We cannot let Ukraine down," he said.
Along the frontlines, winter weather is slowing down Ukrainian forces after their summer counteroffensive failed to make a significant breakthrough along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) line of contact.
Ukrainian officials have appealed for greater air defense aid from Western allies, whose war fatigue is chipping away at efforts to keep up robust support for the country.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Friday's attack should spur the world to further action in support of Ukraine.
"These widespread attacks on Ukraine's cities show Putin will stop at nothing to achieve his aim of eradicating freedom and democracy," Sunak said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. "We must continue to stand with Ukraine - for as long as it takes."
Missile may have entered Polish airspace
In Poland, defense forces said an unknown object entered about 40 kilometers (24 miles) into their airspace Friday morning from the direction of Ukraine and then disappeared from radar after less than three minutes.
"Everything indicates that a Russian missile intruded in Poland's airspace. It was monitored by us on radars and left the airspace. We have confirmation of this on radars and from allies" in NATO, said Poland's defense chief, General Wiesław Kukuła.
The defense forces said both its radar and NATO radar confirmed that the object left Polish airspace. Kukula said steps were being taken to verify those findings and eliminate the possibility of a technical error.
There was no comment from Russian officials.
Poland's border with Ukraine is also the European Union and NATO's border with Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on X that he had spoken with Poland's president about the "missile incident" and added NATO was vigilant and monitoring the situation "as the facts are established."
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke Friday with the head of Poland's National Security Bureau, Jacek Siewiera. Sullivan expressed U.S. solidarity with Poland, "our close NATO ally."
Sullivan also pledged technical assistance as needed and assured his Polish counterpart that Biden is following the issue closely. Siewiera expressed appreciation for U.S. support and stated their governments will remain in close contact, according to a White House statement.
There were no immediate reports of an explosion or casualties.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened a meeting with the defense minister, military commanders and heads of national security bodies, followed by a meeting of the National Security Bureau with President Andrzej Duda, the supreme commander of Poland's armed forces.
Duda said through an aide that there was "no threat at the moment" and nothing to suggest that "anything bad" should be expected.
It was not clear whether the object that Poland reported on its radar was related to the Russian aerial barrage on Ukraine earlier.
Some material for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.