Russia's most extensive missile onslaught of the war, according to Ukraine, resulted in a death toll of at least 30 people, with over 160 others injured. In the early hours of Friday, Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Lviv were targeted.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russia employed nearly every weapon in its arsenal, causing damage to homes and even a maternity hospital. Although Kyiv's air defenses had notably improved in recent months, they were overwhelmed on Friday.

Ukraine's air force reported the unprecedented launch of hypersonic, cruise, and ballistic missiles, including the challenging-to-intercept X-22 type.

While 114 out of 158 missiles and drones were successfully intercepted, black smoke marked the devastation at various blast sites. The impact of direct missile strikes, rather than falling debris, caused a level of destruction not seen in months.

Kyiv suffered nine casualties, and even a metro station serving as an air raid shelter was hit.

The western city of Lviv, typically spared, faced over 10 Iranian-made Shahed drones and 15 missiles. Additionally, Konotop in the Sumy Region and Odesa, where a high-rise building caught fire from a drone strike, experienced further attacks, resulting in casualties and injuries.

The north-eastern city of Kharkiv is no stranger to missile strikes, but not the 20 it felt on Friday morning. Kharkiv mayor Igor Terekhov said three people were killed and 13 were injured in a series of strikes in the city which damaged a hospital and residential buildings.

The governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region said that six people were killed and 28 were injured in what he called a "tragic morning for the region".

Serhiy Lysak said that a shopping center and a maternity hospital were targeted in the regional capital of Dnipro. In Zaporizhzhia, eight people were killed after attacks on infrastructure, and 13 people were injured.

One Russian missile even briefly entered Polish airspace as it homed in on its Ukrainian target.

The UN's humanitarian envoy for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said the attacks "left a path of destruction, death and human suffering" and were "another unacceptable example of the horrifying reality" Ukrainian people face.

So why did Russia do this now?

Its missile stockpiles aren't what they were, but Moscow has shown it still wants to continue its tactic of suppressing Ukraine's population, in the hope that not feeling safe will lessen their appetite for this war.

It's also been a week when Ukraine destroyed a major Russian landing ship in occupied Crimea, and the US delivered the last of its approved military packages to Ukraine worth $250m.

However, that is relatively small change compared to the $50bn aid package currently blocked by political disagreement in the US Congress.

Responding to the latest Russian bombardment, US President Joe Biden described it as "a stark reminder to the world that, after nearly two years of this devastating war, Putin's objective remains unchanged. He seeks to obliterate Ukraine and subjugate its people. He must be stopped."

Maybe the renewed missile attack was revenge, or another statement? A spokesman for Russia's Defence Ministry simply said "all the designated military targets have been hit".

It has always been the whole of Ukraine under Russian attack. The country has been able to defend against most of the invader's nationwide drone and missile attacks.

But its ability to keep doing so is far from assured.

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