Russian forces bombed a UNESCO World Heritage Site cathedral during a deadly night of attacks on Ukraine.  

In the early hours of Monday morning, church bells rang in defiance of Vladimir Putin from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, where the main Assumption Cathedral was set ablaze by a drone strike.

It is one of the most important Orthodox monasteries in Eastern Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Following the strikes on the 11th-century cathedral, Putin was branded 'one of the most terrible barbarians in history'.

'This is one of the biggest Russian crimes against Christian culture to date,' said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha added: 'By striking the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, one of the greatest holy places of Christianity, Putin has forever inscribed his name in the list of the most terrible barbarians in history.'

Russia did not mention hitting the cathedral complex or other cultural sites in Ukraine in a savage overnight bombardment.

Putin’s defence ministry claimed it had struck defence-industrial complex facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro.

These targets included military airfields and logistics centres, according to Moscow.

At least nine people were killed, and 46 were wounded across the country, including four children, amid the overnight attacks.

NATO warplanes were scrambled in Poland, near the Ukrainian border, due to the ferocity of the Russian onslaught.

Putin's forces deployed at least six Zircon hypersonic missiles at Kyiv, one of which was spectacularly seen being downed by a US Patriot PAC-3 interceptor.

In all, Russia unleashed 34 Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles, mostly at Kyiv, and 480 strike drones, and 30 Kh-101 and Iskander-K cruise missiles.

In Kharkiv, four firefighters were killed, and five more were wounded, when the Russians staged a second attack on a site where the rescuers were working due to an earlier attack.

One of the dead was Oleksiy Dorozhkin, father of a one-year-old daughter.

Putin's forces appeared to target key cultural sites, seeking to wipe out Ukrainian heritage.

In Kyiv, where four died and 30 were injured, including children aged five and six, the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio was struck, with the destruction of the largest and oldest costume collection in Ukraine.

Kharkiv Art Museum and opera theatre were hit, as was the historic House of Organ and Chamber Music in Dnipro.

Olena Kurylo, 56, from Kharkiv, known as the 'face of the war' after she emerged bloodied from her destroyed home at the start of the conflict, said today: 'It is just madness.

'The Russians are striking out of some kind of impotence, hitting museums, theatres, churches.

'Where is their 'God is with us' now? Striking the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra? Where is God with them? They have the devil with them, Satan! May they all burn in hell.'

The Lavra was previously damaged in a massive explosion on November 3, 1941, when Kyiv was under Hitler's occupation.

NATO fighters from the French Air Force were scrambled amid the intense attack, which came soon after Putin had called Donald Trump to congratulate him on his 80th birthday.

Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said: 'Fighter jets have commenced operations, while ground-based air defence and radar surveillance systems have reached a state of readiness.

'These actions are preventive in nature and aimed at securing and protecting airspace, particularly in areas adjacent to the threatened regions.'

Ukraine military sources said air defences had neutralised 50 missiles and 582 out of 611 drones.

Ukraine hit key military targets overnight.

Fresh damage was done to bridges linking the occupied Black Sea peninsula of Crimea to the annexed mainland, as Ukraine works to destroy supply routes.

The Chonhar checkpoint and a car bridge near Henichesk were ablaze.

Three people were killed in Russia's Tula region, apparently from a downed drone hitting a residential building.

A major fire was burning at commercial premises targeted by Ukraine in Tula city.

Reutov, in the west of Moscow, was also hit.