The barrage appeared to be one of the largest recent assaults in Ukraine’s campaign to damage Russia’s war machine on its home territory.

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

Russia launched a new barrage of missiles and drones at Ukraine on Wednesday, targeting gas infrastructure and other energy facilities in western regions in the latest strike on the country's hobbled power system as it approaches mid-winter.