In short:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia battered Ukraine's capital Kyiv overnight into Sunday local time, with one of its biggest ballistic missile barrages of the war.

At least one person has been killed and 16 others have been injured.

Mr Zelenskyy says "the enemy launched more than 40 missiles of various types".

Russia has battered Ukraine's capital Kyiv with one of its biggest ballistic missile barrages of the war, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

At least one person has been killed and 16 others wounded.

A series of powerful explosions thundered across the darkened city in an attack that involved 41 missiles of various types and ravaged buildings across several districts, overnight into Sunday, local time.

Russia also launched 125 attack drones across Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian air force.

Residential buildings, warehouses, a supermarket and a dormitory were among the structures damaged, said Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, adding that three people were in a serious condition.

President Zelenskyy posted on X:

"Overnight, Russia carried out one of its largest ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv. The enemy launched more than 40 missiles of various types — most of them against the capital".

The attack began about 1:30am local time and continued for several hours, according to officials.

Kyiv's acting foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called for "appropriate and strong responses" in a post on X, describing the night's events as a "brutal terrorist attack on the Ukrainian capital".

At one location in western Kyiv, emergency workers picked through smouldering debris and doused bombed-out apartments.

A resident who identified himself as Vlad said he had been inside his apartment when a blast tore off his balcony door, which smashed him in the head.

"My grandmother lives with me, and she can't walk. How could I run away and leave her behind?" he said.

Closer to the city centre, an underground pedestrian passage near a frequently targeted metro station had caved in, leaving a pile of rubble.

Critical shortage of air defences

Russian forces have stepped up ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv and other cities in recent weeks as Ukraine struggles with a critical shortage of US-designed air defences.

Kyiv's military said it had shot down 18 missiles in Sunday's attack, which was aimed primarily at the Ukrainian capital.

It added that 108 out of 125 drones had also been downed.

Mr Zelenskyy said last week that the US and Ukraine had reached a political agreement on licences to make the prized Patriot interceptors.

He added that he hoped production could begin by the end of the year.

But the mounting Russian attacks in the fifth year of Moscow's full-scale war are heaping pressure on Kyiv's foreign partners to accelerate supply of anti-ballistic defences.

"Protection against ballistic missiles is our constant and top priority right now," Mr Zelenskyy said on X on Sunday.

"Interceptors are needed every day."

Reuters/AP