The UN General Assembly began debating whether Russia should demand that Russia reverse course on its annexation of four regions of Ukraine - a discussion that came as Moscow’s most extensive missile strikes in months hit a large scale.

The meeting, scheduled before Monday’s barrage, was intended to respond to Russia’s alleged absorption of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions last month. The move followed Kremlin-orchestrated “referendums” that the Ukrainian government and the West have dismissed as illegal.

But countries took the opportunity to speak out about Monday morning’s rush-hour attacks that hit at least 14 Ukrainian regions, including the capital Kiev, and killed at least 14 people. Russia said it was targeting military and energy facilities. But some of the rockets hit civilian areas.

Ukrainian Ambassador Sergey Kyslytsya told the meeting that some of his own close relatives were in danger and unable to take cover in a bomb shelter.

“The whole world has once again seen the true face of the terrorist state that is killing our people”, - he said as the debate began.