Russia claims the barrage was payback for a cross-border raid

Russia has launched a huge wave of missile strikes across Ukraine while people slept killing at least six civilians, knocking out electricity, and forcing a nuclear power plant off the grid.

The majority of those fatalities – five – were in western Lviv, where drone footage showed a flattened home surrounded by badly damaged buildings.

Another civilian was reported killed by the missiles in the central Dnipro region.

The first big volley of missile strikes since mid-February shattered the longest period of comparative calm since Moscow began a campaign to attack Ukraine’s civil infrastructure five months ago.

Moscow says its campaign of targeting Ukraine’s infrastructure far from the front is intended to reduce its ability to fight.

Russia’s defence ministry said the “massive retaliatory strike” on Ukrainian infrastructure was payback for a cross-border raid last week on a Russian village.

Kyiv said the air strikes have no military purpose and aim to harm and intimidate civilians, a war crime.

The strike knocked out the power supply to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, severing it from the Ukrainian grid.

“Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is running on emergency diesels,” The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief, Rafael Grossi, said. “The last, the last line of defence.”

“This is the sixth time. Let me say it again. This is the sixth time that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has lost all offsite power and has had to operate in this emergency mode.

“Let me remind you, this is the largest nuclear power station in Europe, operating for the sixth time under emergency diesel generators. What are we doing?”

Ukraine says an unprecedented six of Russia’s small arsenal of kinzhal hypersonic cruise missiles were used – one of Moscow’s most valuable weapons.

Ukraine has no way of shooting them down.