Air defences were engaged in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv on Thursday to repel a Russian drone attack, officials said, and Reuters witness reported explosions in the city while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was visiting.

Russia's military on Tuesday said it would retaliate against Ukraine after Kyiv attacked Russian regions by firing six U.S.-made ATACMS ballistic missiles, six UK-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles and launching one of the biggest drone attacks to date.

NATO member Poland scrambled fighter jets after overnight Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, Warsaw's military said on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces told Newsweek that "intense long-range aviation activity" from Russia had been detected early on Wednesday.

Vladimir Putin timed the latest bombardment on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv for when Sir Keir Starmer was visiting. The British prime minister arrived in the city for a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky this morning when air raid sirens blasted,

Ukraine has launched its largest attack on Russian military facilities, deploying British Storm Shadow missiles, US-made Atacms missiles and 146 drones to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.