[Tee tiong huat]

Putin said the fresh bombardment was a "response" to Ukrainian strikes on his territory with Western missiles.

The nearly three-year war has seen a sharp escalation in recent days, with both sides deploying new weapons in a bid to gain the upper hand before United States President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. We do not rule out the use of Oreshnik against the military, military-industrial or decision-making centres, including in Kyiv," Putin told a press conference in the Kazakh capital Astana, referring to the hypersonic missile.

Kyiv's govt district - an area of the capital where multiple government buildings are located - is protected with intense security, but fears for it have risen over the last week. Russia tested its new Oreshnik ballistic missile on Ukraine last week, and Putin boasted on Thursday that firing several of the weapons at once would have the equivalent force of a nuclear strike, or a "meteorite" hit.

Kremlin chief said overnight barrage was a "response to continued attacks on their territory by (US) ATACMS missiles". "As I have said repeatedly, we'll always be a response from our side."