UKRAINIAN air defences thwarted an intense Russian air attack on Kiev today, shooting down all 18 missiles aimed at the capital, officials said.

Loud explosions boomed over Kiev as the night-time attack combined Russian missiles launched from the air, sea and land in an apparent attempt to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defences.

No casualties were reported as Western-supplied weapons helped fend off the assault.

The barrage came as European leaders sought new ways to punish Russia for the war and a Chinese envoy sought traction for Beijing’s peace proposal.

It also came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky returned home following a whirlwind European tour to greet Ukraine’s key wartime allies, which spurred an additional tranche of pledged military aid.

The overnight attack on Kiev was “exceptional in its density — the maximum number of attacking missiles in the shortest period of time,” said Serhii Popko, the head of the Kiev military administration.

Valentyna Myronets, a 64-year-old Kiev resident, said that she felt “pain, fear, nervousness and restlessness” amid the assaults. “God, we are waiting for victory and when all this is over,” she said.

It was the eighth time this month that Russian air raids had targeted the capital, a clear escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Meanwhile, a Chinese envoy is preparing to visit Ukraine and Russia in coming days as Beijing presses the peace plan it released in February.

Li Hui, a former ambassador to Moscow, also will visit Poland, France and Germany, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Ukraine has cautiously welcomed China’s proposal while saying it would wait to see what specific actions China takes.