Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky vowed Russia will “pay back” every house and city destroyed by its troops, as photos emerge of Kyiv in ruins.
Vladimir Putin ’s forces have been laying siege to the capital for days, intensifying attacks to missile strikes against residential and industrial areas as its defiant residents refuse to give in.
The toll on the city, once the home of nearly three million people, can be clearly seen in these images showing the destruction caused by Russian shelling.
Several apartment blocks are now just charred remains while several vehicles are burnt out.
Other images show smoke still rising from some areas attacked.
Moscow earlier this week warned residents of Kyiv to flee their homes as bombardments on cities intensified.
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The scenes of desolation come a week after Vladimir Putin’s forces poured into Ukraine, with air raid sirens becoming part of life in several cities.
President Zelensky has promised his people the damage caused to the country’s infrastructure will be repaired by Russian money.
He said in a video statement: “We will restore every house, every street, every city and we say to Russia : learn the word of reparations and contributions.
“You will reimburse us for everything you did against our state, against every Ukrainian in full.
"We are a people who in a week have destroyed the plans of the enemy.
"They will have no peace here. They will have no food. They will have here not one quiet moment.
He added the fighting is taking a toll on the morale of Russian soldiers, who "go into grocery stores and try to find something to eat".
He added: “These are not warriors of a superpower.
"These are confused children who have been used."
More than one million people are said to have fled Ukraine following Russia's invasion, as Moscow said it was ready for more peace talks even as its forces bombard the country's second-largest city and two strategic seaports.
The tally the UN refugee agency released was reached on Wednesday and amounts to more than 2% of Ukraine's population being forced out of the country in seven days.
Meanwhile Russia's invasions has moved much slower than anticipated and is facing supply shortages, according to US officials.
The Pentagon said the Kremlin has still failed to take control of Ukraine's skies after nearly a week, or key targets, including Kharkiv or the port of Mariupol.
"In many cases, what we're seeing are columns that are literally out of gas," one official is quoted as saying.
"Now they're starting to run out of food for their troops."
