What does Putin’s latest attack mean for the Russia-Ukraine war?
President Putin once boasted that Russia’s hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, which were among the 158 fired at targets across Ukraine on Friday, were “indestructible”.
Russia launched a wave of hypersonic, ballistic and cruise missiles as well as kamikaze drones at cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Odesa.
The ease with which Ukraine was able to swat them away is testament to the power of its western air defences.
• Russian missiles hit Kyiv and key cities
For the most part, Ukraine was able to defend Kharkiv and Lviv, Kyiv and Odesa, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia from the onslaught. By comparison, Russia has struggled to protect itself whenever Ukraine has used Storm Shadow long-range missiles against targets in the Black Sea, most recently failing to prevent
