Russian President Putin's patience has broken since the attack on Moscow by American and British weapons. Now on his instructions, the Russian army is wreaking havoc in Kiev. On Wednesday, more than 90 missiles and 100 drones were fired on Ukraine. This shook Ukraine. Not only this, Putin has now issued a threat of attacking Ukraine with hypersonic missiles.

The threat came hours after Moscow attacked Ukraine's energy grid, leaving one million people without electricity.

Kiev said Russia fired more than 90 missiles and about 100 drones during the attack, which the Kremlin chief called a "response" to Ukrainian attacks on its territory with Western missiles.

The nearly three-year-long war has seen a sharp escalation in recent days, with both sides deploying new weapons in an effort to gain an edge before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

Will Putin fire several missiles simultaneously?

"We do not rule out the possibility of using Oreshnik against military, military-industrial or decision-making centres, including in Kiev," Putin said at a press conference in the Kazakhstan capital Astana, referring to the hypersonic missile.

Russia tested its new Oreshnik ballistic missile over Ukraine last week and Putin claimed on Thursday that firing multiple weapons simultaneously would have a force equivalent to a nuclear attack or a "meteorite" strike.

He had earlier said the overnight bombing was "a response to the continued attacks by (US) ATACMS missiles on our territory."

"As I have said repeatedly, there will always be a response from our side."

Putin also claimed that Russia knows how many long-range weapons have been supplied to Kiev and where they are located.

Attack on Kyiv is proof of Putin's weakness: PM Tusk

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Putin's threat to attack Kiev was "proof of weakness" and said the West would not be bothered by his words.

The latest attacks come as Ukrainians brace for a harsh winter, with much of their energy infrastructure already damaged by nearly three years of war and Russian troops advancing in eastern Ukraine.

According to the information received, tensions have increased significantly in the last few weeks, as both sides are trying to gain an edge on the battlefield before Trump's swearing-in in January.

Putin signaled he has hopes for a second term for Trump, describing the Republican on Thursday as a "wise man" who is capable of finding "solutions," though he did not elaborate what he was talking about.

The Russian leader spoke hours after overnight bombings knocked out power to more than half a million consumers in Ukraine's western Lviv region.

Millions of people are forced to live without electricity

Officials said 280,000 people in the western Rivne region and 215,000 in the northwestern Volyn region also lost power. Ukraine's emergency services said Russia's overnight attacks caused damage in 14 regions across the country, with the country's west hardest hit.

Zelenskyy said Russia had also fired “cluster munitions” during the attack, calling it a “very disgusting escalation of Russian terrorist tactics.”

AFP journalists in the capital Kiev heard explosions in the capital overnight as air defence systems targeted Russian drones and missiles, with locals crowding into the underground metro system for cover.

The energy ministry said it was Russia's 11th major attack on Ukraine's civilian energy infrastructure this year.

Rosemary DiCarlo, a senior UN official, warned this month that Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure could make this winter "the harshest since the beginning of the war."

Putin described the new missile

Ever since Moscow stunned the West and Kiev by testing its new ballistic missile Oreshnik over the Dnieper town last week, Russian officials have been touting the weapon’s power.

In Astana, Putin said Oreshnik could "turn anything into dust" and strike at temperatures comparable to "the surface of the sun."

He said Russia was forced to test (the weapon) in a combat situation after Kiev's first attack on Russian territory using ATACMS.

Putin said on Thursday that Oreshnik could move at a speed of "about three kilometres per second" and that its elements could have a temperature "about the same as on the surface of the sun."

Russia also sentenced a lawyer, Dmitry Talantov, to seven years in prison for comparing Moscow's actions in Ukraine at the start of the invasion to "Nazi practices." The sentence came a day after the invasion critic was retried.

Meanwhile, Ukraine sentenced a woman from the eastern Donetsk region to 15 years in prison on high treason charges for passing sensitive military information to Russia.