A pall of acrid smoke hung over the Ukrainian capital on Friday morning following hours of nightfall punctuated by the staccato of air defence guns, buzz of drones and large explosions. Ukraine said Russia fired a record 539 drones and 11 missiles.

Russia pummeled Kyiv with the largest drone attack of the war, hours after President Donald Trump spoke to Russia's Vladimir Putin, officials said.

Russia launched 550 drones and missiles across Ukraine overnight in the largest aerial assault since the war began. The capital Kyiv was the primary target.