Putin unleashes barrage of missile strikes across Ukrainian cities - child among five dead
The Russian president launched a bombing spree, worsening the destruction in the war-torn country.
Vladimir Putin has unleashed brutal airstrikes across Ukraine, including on the capital Kyiv. So far five people are confirmed to have been killed in the raids. In the city of Dnipro, the local mayor has said that a woman and three-year-old lost their lives in the explosions.
Three more people were killed in the city of Uman, as residential buildings were struck by missiles, including a nine-storey apartment.
In the capital, 11 missiles and two drones were said to have been shot down, according to the news agency Interfax.
This was the first missile attack on Kyiv in 51 days according to the city's military administration.
The strikes follow the Russian assault on the city of Mykolaiv near Kherson on the morning of April 27.
At least one person was killed and 23 were injured, including a child.
The attack, which happened overnight, caused a huge fire in the top floor of an apartment block, while it also damaged two houses and a historical building. According to local reports, the child injured in the incident will be in hospital for several days as a result of the vicious missile attack.
Ukrainian emergency services rushed to the scene to quell the blaze, which had consumed the top of the apartment block following the attack.
The Southern Operational Command of Ukraine's Armed Forces said Russia had fired four Kalibr cruise missiles, each with an estimated cost of over £5.2 million.
Meanwhile the head of military intelligence in Kyiv has said that Putin has stopped trying to take new Ukrainian territory and is instead focussing on holding his positions.
Major General Budanov said that Putin’s troops “have completely switched to positional defense everywhere”.
He said: “The only places on the frontline where they are making attempts are in the city of Bakhmut, an attempt to cover the city of Avdiivka from the north, and localized fighting in the city of Marinka.
“Both in Avdiivka and Marinka the tactics are identical to those in Bakhmut - just an attempt to wipe the settlement off the face of the earth, as they say”.