Russian strikes on Ukraine continued for a second day on Tuesday, hitting energy and other key infrastructure targets across the country.
The deadly attacks caused widespread blackouts in the western Lviv region, Dnipropetrovsk in the south-east and Vinnytsia in the south-west.
Electricity rationing is in place in the capital Kyiv after the strikes, and problems with water supply were reported in a number of Ukrainian cities.
Addressing a crisis summit of the G7 leaders of the world’s most industrialised nations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country urgently needed advanced weaponry to create an “air shield” against future missile attacks.
The G7 responded by saying Russia’s “indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilian populations constitute a war crime” and pledged to provide support to Ukraine “for as long as it takes”.
In Russia, the defence ministry again claimed that all the intended targets were hit.
The head of the UK’s GCHQ intelligence agency has told the BBC that Russia’s military was exhausted, but there were no signs yet of nuclear weapons use.
Speaking to Today, Sir Jeremy Fleming argued that the mobilisation of prisoners and inexperienced men “speaks of a desperate situation” – and said President Putin had made mistakes.
However, he said Russia is still “very capable” of causing damage.
In a lecture later on Tuesday, Sir Jeremy also addressed the issue of Chinese technology, which he described as posing a major risk to the UK’s security and prosperity.
