At least 25 persons have been killed by a wave of Russian air strikes on Ukrainian cities, including Kiev.
Officials reported that 23 persons, including four children, were killed in an attack on a residential building in the central city of Uman.
According to the local mayor, a woman and her three-year-old daughter were murdered in the city of Dnipro.
According to the Russian defence ministry, the strikes targeted Ukrainian army reserve formations.
Friday, the state-owned RIA news agency reported that Russia was targeting reserve units with high-precision armaments.
After being struck by a missile, a nine-story apartment building partially collapsed in Uman, a city mainly spared by Russian attacks.
Oleksander, a 35-year-old resident of the neighbourhood, reported being awoken by a loud detonation.
“I could not comprehend what was occurring. When I reached the balcony, I observed glass everywhere. It was dreadful, he informed the BBC.
“Russia is a state of terrorism. As you can see, there is no military equipment present. And it occurred at four in the morning while people were asleep.”
Another resident, 60-year-old Vanda, reported hearing an explosion and “everything shook”
“We attempted to locate exits from the building. I heard a child screaming in the unit next door to ours. We desired to assist others. She stated that there was smoke and fire everywhere.
“Peaceful people were just sleeping.”
Over ten hours after the attack, rescuers continued to work at the scene as residents attempted to retrieve some of their possessions. In neighbouring structures, residents were already repairing shattered windows.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the apartment complex was one of ten residential structures damaged in Uman.
The state rescue service reported that the infant killed in the city was born in 2013 and that eleven other individuals required hospitalisation.
Mr. Zelensky stated that the assaults demonstrated the need for additional international action against Russia.
Our defenders are using weapons to thwart evil. And sanctions can halt it – global sanctions must be strengthened,” he said in a tweet.
The director of the military administration for the city of Kyiv stated that it was the first Russian missile strike on the capital in 51 days.
There are no reports of civilian casualties in the capital city at this time.
Twenty-one out of twenty-three missiles and two attack drones were intercepted by Ukraine’s air defence system, according to a Telegram message from government officials.
The Russian-installed mayor of Donetsk stated that seven persons were killed when Ukrainian artillery shells struck a minibus in the separatist-controlled city. BBC News was unable to verify the allegation immediately.
The attacks occur as Ukrainian forces declare they are prepared to initiate a military offensive with Western allies-supplied equipment, including tanks.
“As soon as God’s will, the weather, and a decision by commanders align, we will do it,” Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said during a Friday online news briefing.
In a winter offensive that included a 10-month conflict for control of the strategically significant city of Bakhmut, Russia has struggled to make progress.
According to a report by the state-run RIA news agency, the Russian defence ministry announced on Friday that its military had targeted Ukrainian army reserve units with long-range strikes using high-precision munitions.
Moscow has previously stated that it does not intentionally target civilians, but since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, thousands have been injured and slain.
Air strikes across Ukraine
