Russia fired rarely seen missiles and wildly unpredictable ones that Ukraine's forces can't stop in deadly strikes across the country

• Russian forces launched a huge missile and drone attack against Ukraine on Thursday.
• The missiles that were launched include Kh-47 hypersonic and Kh-22 anti-ship missiles. 
• Ukraine's air defenses are unable to shoot down these weapons, a military official said. 

Russian forces carried out a massive missile attack against Ukraine on Thursday that included both rarely seen and wildly unpredictable missiles that Kyiv's defenses can't stop.

Ukraine's military said Russia fired 81 missiles and eight Iranian-made suicide drones at cities across the country, leaving multiple civilians dead and injured. Kyiv's air defenses managed to shoot down 34 cruise missiles and four drones, Ukraine's defense ministry said. Another eight missiles missed their targets.

But others made it through Ukraine's formidable defenses.

Among the missiles that were fired were 28 Kh-101 and Kh-555 air-launched cruise missiles, 20 Kalibr sea-launched cruise missiles, 13 S-300 surface-to-air missiles, eight Kh-31P and 6 –Kh-59 guided missiles, six Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles, and six Kh-22 missiles, according to Ukrainian state media.

The Kh-47 Kinzhal is a conventional air-launched ballistic missile that is capable of traveling at hypersonic speeds — at least Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. Though it is known as one of Russia's "super weapons," the Kinzhal is not actually a new "hypersonic" weapon in the way the term is normally used, as it has a classic design that stretches back decades. That said, it does have certain advanced capabilities that present a grave challenge for Ukraine's air defenses, though it has rarely seen operational use beyond March 2022.

Meanwhile, the Kh-22s fired by Russian forces are Soviet-era supersonic anti-ship missiles known by NATO as the AS-4 Kitchen. Western intelligence agencies and military experts say these massive missiles are unpredictable and inaccurate when used against land targets and can inflict widespread collateral damage. These weapons have done so repeatedly throughout the war in Ukraine.

Yurii Ihnat, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military, said Thursday's attack was "really large-scale and for the first time using such different types of missiles. We see that this time as many as six Kinzhal were used. This is an attack like I don't remember seeing before." He added that Ukraine has "no capabilities to counter these weapons," referencing the Kinzhals and the Kh-22s, according to CNN.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack targeted residential areas and Kyiv's critical infrastructure, but he said that the country's energy system is being restored. "The enemy fired 81 missiles in an attempt to intimidate Ukrainians again, returning to their miserable tactics," he wrote on Telegram. "The occupiers can only terrorize civilians. That's all they can do. But it won't help them. They won't avoid responsibility for everything they have done."

Thursday's attack was Russia's largest on Ukraine in weeks and comes as fighting continues to rage in the eastern Donbas region as the war stretches into its second year and casualties continue to mount on both sides. 

Earlier this week, the US intelligence director said Russia's wasted resources and heavy losses in Ukraine have made the country less of a conventional military threat and will force it to rely on less traditional force options in the future. 

"Russia will become even more reliant on asymmetric options such as nuclear, cyber, space capabilities, and on China," Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told lawmakers.