G7 leaders convene crisis conclave on Russia's missile blitz of Ukraine

Leaders of the G7 group of global economic powers are to hold a videoconference on Tuesday, one day after Moscow launched an unprecedented missile barrage targeting cities and infrastructure across Ukraine.

At least 97 Ukrainian civilians were injured in Monday's missile strikes. REUTERS - STRINGER

Russian forces launched more than 80 missiles at cities across Ukraine on Monday, according to Kyiv, in apparent retaliation for an explosion that damaged a bridge linking the Crimean peninsula to Russia.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the strikes showed Moscow was "desperate" after a spate of embarrassing military setbacks, as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of "severe" responses to any further attacks.

At an urgent meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday -- called to debate Moscow's declared annexation of four partly occupied Ukrainian regions -- Ukrainian ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya branded Russia a "terrorist state", noting his own immediate family had come under attack on Monday.

"Unfortunately, you can hardly call for a stable and sane peace as long as an unstable and insane dictatorship exists in your vicinity," he said, telling member states at least 14 civilians were killed and 97 injured in the strikes.

Macron condemns missile blitz

French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the Russian attacks with his defence and foreign ministers, afterwards saying the missile blitz signalled "a profound change in the nature of this war".

US President Joe Biden condemned Monday's attacks in stark terms, saying they "demonstrate the utter brutality" of Putin's "illegal war".

In a statement, the White House said Biden had spoken to Zelensky and had pledged to furnish Ukraine with "advanced air defence systems".

Ahead of Monday's General Assembly session, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the latest attacks as an "unacceptable escalation of the war".

Though Russian representative Vasily Nebenzya did not directly address the missile strikes at the UN session, he defended his country's annexation of Ukrainian regions, saying the aim was "to protect our brothers and sisters in eastern Ukraine".

Huge number of civilian victims

Since Russia launched its invasion on in February, more than 7.6 million Ukrainian refugees have been forced to shelter elsewhere in Europe, while a further seven million have been displaced within the country.

Monday's missile strikes prompted a fresh warning from the UN's refugee chief that more people could soon be forced to flee their homes.

"The bombing of civilians, of houses, of non-military infrastructure in an indiscriminate manner in many cities across Ukraine, means the war is becoming harder and more difficult for civilians," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi told journalists in Geneva.

"I fear that the events of these last hours will provoke more displacements."