Ukraine officials said air defenses intercepted "about three dozen enemy missiles" and that rocket fragments fell on a kindergarten in the Sviatoshynskyi district and a residential building caught fire. It was the first large-scale strike on the capital in 44 days, and a appears a direct response to the last several days of Ukraine forces' cross-border drone attacks on Russian territory.

The head of Ukraine's air force Mykola Oleschuk said anti-air systems downed 31 missiles, counting among these two ballistic missiles and 29 cruise missiles, which points to a very large attack. The day prior, Russian missiles pummeled the northern city of Kharkiv, reportedly killing five.

President Zelensky in a statement said, "Such terror continues every day and night." He went on to urgently appeal for more weapons, especially anti-air missile systems, mentioning the US-made Patriots by name.

"It is possible to put an end to it through global unity... Russian terrorists do not have missiles capable of bypassing Patriot and other leading world systems," he said.

This is likely to give greater urgency to EU meetings in Brussels who are pushing forward a controversial plan which Moscow has decried as 'theft':

Later today, European Union leaders are scheduled to meet in Brussels to discuss the use of billions of euros in profits from frozen Russian financial assets to buy arms for Ukraine as they try to bolster Kyiv in its fight against Moscow's invasion.

The bloc's 27 national leaders, joined by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky via video link, will also debate how Europe can do more to defend itself and boost its arms industry, reflecting fears that the US may not be such a staunch protector of Europe in future.