NATO fighter planes were scrambled today amid a brutal Russian missile and military drone onslaught on civilian, energy and military sites in Ukraine. Harrowing footage showed residents in Poltava screaming after a strike destroyed ordinary apartment blocks triggering fires amid the debris of smashed buildings. The wave of attacks by Vladimir Putin - which led to power cuts in multiple regions - came soon after Donald Trump announced in the Oval Office that his administration was actively talking to Moscow.

“We are having very serious discussions about that war, trying to get it ended,” said the US president. On whether he had spoken directly to Putin, Trump said: “I don’t want to say that.”. The massive strikes - which killed at least four and led to multiple injuries - may be a sign that Putin has no intention of ending his attempt to crush Ukraine. He used strategic nuclear-capable bomber aircraft including Tu-95s and Tu-22s in the attacks, unleashing Kh-22 missiles among others.

The scale of the blitzkrieg led NATO to scramble Polish and allied warplanes on the alliance’s eastern front. Warsaw’s operation command said: “Attention, due to the attack of the Russian Federation performing strikes on facilities located, among others, in the west of Ukraine, the operation of Polish and allied aviation in our airspace has begun. The duty commander “activated all available forces and means at his disposal,” said a statement. NATO fighter planes were sent up while “ground-based air defence and radio-location reconnaissance systems have reached a state of highest readiness. “The steps taken are aimed at ensuring security in the areas bordering the threatened areas.”.

In Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv, a drone crashed in the Kholodnohirskyi residential district, killing one woman and leaving five injured, said mayor Ihor Terekhov. There were scenes of anguish in Poltava where an ordinary apartment block was hit. An entrance to the building was ripped apart. At least three people were killed and ten wounded. Rescuers were working at the scene amid fears of fatalities.

Emergency power outages were reported in the Dnepropetrovsk, Kirovograd, Poltava, Sumy and Kharkiv regions. In Zaporizhzhia, Russia launched dozens of strikes, including at least 18 Shahed drones, damaging infrastructure, a multi-storey building, and private houses. One man was injured. Earlier in an attack on the historic centre of Odesa, the tsarist-era Hotel Bristol was hit and damaged. Explosions were recorded in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Kyiv and Odessa regions. The Vasylkiv military airfield, 25 miles south of Kyiv, was targeted, according to some reports.

Head of Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, Andriy Yermak, said: “Poltava, Odesa, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia - attacks on residential buildings, on civilians, are typical tactics of the Russian army. They also even wipe out villages in their own Kursk region with people, shelling them with KAB [aerial bombs]…. “The true face of Russia is this. Murderers who have absolutely no respect for any leader in the world, or any other nation. There's only fear, which does not allow them to do the same in Europe. For now.".

As Putin’s armed forces wrought havoc in Ukraine, he was seen presenting a bouquet of white roses to Russia’s leading churchman - Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill - on the 16th anniversary of this enthronement. The dictator is seen as enraged by a succession of attacks by Ukraine on his oil refineries including the loss of key Ust-Luga port to export fuel. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories.