Putin brings death and destruction to Ukraine with missile blitz across the country

Vladimir Putin unleashed a barrage of missiles that hit Ukraine in the early hours of this morning, killing at least 12 people after rockets struck residential buildings.

More than 20 cruise missiles and two drones were fired at cities and towns across the country, striking homes as residents slept.

Missiles rained down on the central city of Dnipro, with one striking a house where a 31-year-old mother and her two-year-old daughter were sleeping, killing them both. Four others were wounded. 

And at least two cruise missiles smashed into a nine-storey building in the central town of Uman, killing at least ten people including a 75-year-old woman, and wounding 17. Three children were rescued from the rubble.

Kyiv was also rocked by explosions in the first attack on the capital in nearly two months, with air raid sirens beginning at 4am. Ukraine’s air force managed to intercept 11 cruise missiles and two drones launched at the city.

Explosions were also reported after midnight in Kremenchuk and Poltava in central Ukraine as well as in Mykolaiv in the south.

A woman carries her child past blown-up residential buildings in the central town of Uman this morning after Russia unleashed a series of missiles on Ukraine

Rescuers and residents search for survivors in the rubble next to a devastated residential building in Uman after Russian missile strikes targeted several Ukrainian cities overnight

Dead bodies in plastic bags lie on the ground near the site of a heavily damaged residential building hit by a Russian missile in Uman on Friday

Scores of people have been killed, including women and children, after a Russian missile attack on Uman, central Ukraine, which was burning last night

A firefighter at a storage facilities site hit by the Russian missile strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, on Friday

In Uman, the 75-year-old woman died from internal bleeding caused by the shockwave from the blast in the neighbouring nine-storey building struck by missiles. 

Three body bags were seen outside the building as smoke continued to billow hours after the attack. 

Soldiers, civilians and emergency crews searched through the rubble outside for more victims, while residents dragged belongings out of the damaged building. 

One woman, crying in shock and horror at what she had just witnessed, was taken away by rescue crews for help.-

A haunting video shows a distraught Ukrainian woman with blood on her hands and face after the attack as she shows the wreckage of her flat.

She told how her children had narrowly escaped death in the terrifying bombardment. 

The body of a woman that died after a Russian attack at a residential area lies on a bed surrounded by debris in Uman, central Ukraine, on Friday

Rescuers carry a bag containing a body next to damaged residential buildings in Uman on Friday

A terrified Ukrainian woman surveys the damage and her own injuries as Russians bombarded the town of Uman 

A local resident cries as she looks at the bodies of her neighbours lying in body bags on the ground after they were killed in a Russian missile strike in Uman 

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire after a Russian attack at a residential building in Uman, central Ukraine, on Friday

A firefighter extinguishes a fire on a damaged residential buildings in Uman following the Russian missile strike

Rescuers search for survivors in the rubble of a damaged residential buildings in Uman following the Russian strike on Friday

A woman cries next to the residential building that was hit during a Russian attack in Uman on Friday

At least two cruise missiles smashed into a nine-storey residential building in the central town of Uman (pictured), killing scores of people

Pictured: A heavily damaged residential building hit by a Russian missile is set on fire, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Uman, Cherkasy region, Ukraine, on Friday 

Rescuers work at the site of a residential building heavily damaged residential building hit by a Russian missile, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the town of Uman, Cherkasy region, Ukraine, on Friday

‘A missile hit our block of flats,’ she said, showing the damage. ‘We are all covered in blood. All windows were shattered. Children were sleeping here.

‘They are all alive. We are all covered in blood. I got so scared. I hate you, bloody [Russians], I hate you.’

The missiles were fired from aircraft operating in the Caspian Sea region, according to Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander in Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

Overall, he said Ukraine intercepted 21 of 23 Kh-101 and Kh-555 type cruise missiles launched, as well as the two drones.

Russia immediately claimed that the hits on residential buildings were from ‘cack-handed’ Ukrainian air defences.

Propagandist Vladimir Solovyov alleged: ‘In Uman, the valiant defenders laid down almost the entire entrance of a nine-story building while Russian missiles reached the [targeted] storage facilities without hindrance.’

The attacks come as Ukrainian forces are expected to soon launch an offensive with new military equipment, including tanks, from its Western allies after Russian forces made little headway in a winter offensive. 

Russian forces have suffered setbacks throughout the conflict and have been trying for 10 months to punch their way into the shattered remains of Bakhmut, once a city of 70,000.

Rescuers and residents search for survivors in the rubble next to a damaged residential building in Uman

Rescuers search for survivors in the rubble next to a damaged residential building in Uman, where scores have been killed in the Russian missile strike 

Rescuers search for survivors in the rubble next to a damaged residential building in Uman, where scores have been killed in the Russian missile strike

Rescuers work at the site of a residential building heavily damaged by a Russian missile in Uman

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire after a Russian attack at an apartments’ buildings area in the town of Uman on Friday

Firefighters work at the site of a heavily damaged residential building hit by a Russian missile, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Uman, Cherkasy region, on Friday

Rescuers work at the site of a residential building heavily damaged residential building hit by a Russian missile, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the town of Uman, on Friday

Russia sees Bakhmut as a key stepping stone to other cities in eastern Ukraine, now its major military objective.

The Russian attacks came as NATO announced that its allies and partner countries have delivered more than 98 per cent of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine during Russia’s invasion and war, strengthening Kyiv’s capabilities as it contemplates launching a counteroffensive.

Along with more than 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks and other equipment, Ukraine’s allies have sent ‘vast amounts of ammunition’ and trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian brigades, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

More than 30,000 troops are estimated to make up the new brigades. Some NATO partner countries, such as Sweden and Australia, have also provided armored vehicles.

‘This will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory,’ Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a ‘long and meaningful’ phone call on Wednesday in their first known contact since Russia’s full-scale invasion more than a year ago.

Though Zelenskyy said he was encouraged by Wednesday’s call and Western officials welcomed Xi’s move, it didn’t appear to improve peace prospects.

Russia and Ukraine are far apart in their terms for peace, and Beijing – while looking to position itself as a global diplomatic power – has refused to criticize Moscow’s invasion. The Chinese government sees Russia as a diplomatic ally in opposing U.S. influence in global affairs, and Xi visited Moscow last month.

Firefighters work at the site of storage facilities hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine, on Friday

Pictured: A firefighter stands amidst the rubble of a residential building in Uman after it was struck by a Russian cruise missile

Rescuers and residents search for survivors in the rubble next to a damaged residential building in Uman

Rescuers work at the site of a damaged residential building after a missile attack, in Uman