Ukraine has said it is concluding its preparations for a huge ground assault to try and reclaim land seized by Russia after Moscow launched its first large-scale missile assault in weeks that killed at least 25 people.
The Ukrainian defence minister, Oleskii Reznikov, said that weapons received from the West will help his country use an “iron fist” to punch through Russian lines, as Kyiv seeks to reclaim the near one-fifth of the country Moscow occupies. “As soon as there is God’s will, the weather and a decision by commanders, we will do it,” Mr Reznikov told an online news briefing, adding that Ukraine’s military is “to a high percentage ready” for the counteroffensive.
The war is approaching a critical juncture after a months-long Russian winter offensive gained little ground despite some of the bloodiest fighting of the 14-month invasion, particularly around the eastern town of Bakhmut. Kyiv is preparing an attack using hundreds of tanks and armoured vehicles sent by the West as it looks to retake territory in the south and the east that Moscow holds or has claimed to have annexed.
Moscow launched a barrage of missiles overnight into Friday morning across a number of cities, including Kyiv, which has not been targeted in such a way for about 50 days, although the capital has faced attacks from drones during that time. Missile assaults had become a weekly occurrence during parts of winter, but had tailed off during the spring.
The Ukrainian military said it had shot down 21 out of 23 cruise missiles fired by Russia. Moscow says it does not deliberately target civilians. Kyiv says strikes on cities far from the frontline have no military purpose apart from intimidating and harming civilians. Moscow has claimed that the strikes were aimed at locations containing Ukrainian reserve troops, with the attacks aimed at preventing them from reaching the frontlines. “The strike has achieved its goal. All the designated facilities have been hit,” Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, the defence ministry’s spokesperson, said.
By Friday evening, new air alerts sounded across much of eastern and southern Ukraine and some central regions, with officials appealing to residents not to ignore the warnings.
“This Russian terror must face a fair response from Ukraine and the world,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote in a Telegram post. “And it will.”
The devastation was clear around the struck tower block in Uman, central Ukraine. “No one is left,” Serhii Lubivskyi, 58, who survived inside a flat on the seventh floor, told Reuters. He was rescued by firefighters from the balcony where he escaped with his wife after the explosion blocked their front door. My neighbours are gone,” he said. “Only the kitchens were left standing.”
“An elderly woman, her daughter and two grandchildren lived on the ninth floor. They are gone. A man with his son lived on the eighth floor. They are gone. A woman with her daughter lived on the seventh floor. They are gone. A young family lived on the sixth floor, their son was lucky ... he is alive,” Mr Lubivskyi said.
Officials said at least 23 civilians were killed, including four children, with an estimated 109 people living in the part of the block that was hit and 27 flats completely destroyed.
In the southeastern city of Dnipro, a missile struck a house, killing a two-year-old child and a 31-year-old woman, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said.
As well as Kyiv being rocked by explosions, they were also reported in the central cities of Kremenchuk and Poltava, and Mykolaiv in the south. Two people were wounded in the town of Ukrayinka just south of Kyiv, officials said.
Further east, the Moscow-appointed mayor of the Russia-held city of Donetsk, Alexei Kulemzin, claimed a Ukrainian rocket killed seven civilians in the centre of the city on Friday. He said the victims died when a minibus was hit.
Kyiv has constantly called for fresh weapons and equipment from Western allies so that it can prepare for its counteroffensive. Thousands of Ukrainian troops have also been trained in neighbouring nations or at other bases across Europe to use the new weaponry.
Elsewhere, Russian Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, who was sanctioned by the West and dubbed the “Butcher of Mariupol” for his role in the Ukraine war, is said to have been removed as deputy defence minister. Col Gen Mizintsev orchestrated the siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the early months of the war last year. In September, he was appointed deputy defence minister in charge of logistics and supplies.
Imposing sanctions against Col Gen Mizintsev last June, the European Union referred to him as the “Butcher of Mariupol” and said he was responsible for the “inhuman” siege of the shattered Ukrainian city, which Russia says it is now rebuilding. His departure was reported by a Russian military blogger, Alexander Sladkov, and by the RBC news site. Neither offered an explanation for why he had apparently been removed.
Russian president Vladimir Putin was also reported to have signed a decree giving people living in parts of Ukraine under Moscow’s control a path to Russian citizenship. It means those who decline or who do not legalise their status could be deported.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
