Russia launches new wave of aerial attacks on Ukraine, killing at least 25

Child of two among the dead as Ukrainian military says it intercepted 21 of 23 cruise missiles fired

Rescue workers at a residential building hit by a Russian missile in Uman, central Ukraine. EPA

Russian forces pounded Ukrainian cities with missiles as residents slept on Friday, killing at least 25 people in their first large-scale air strikes in nearly two months.

More than 20 cruise missiles and two drones targeted Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, officials said.

The early morning attacks were carried out as Kyiv is believed to be close to launching a counteroffensive to try to retake Russian-occupied territory.

“Every such attack, every evil act against our country and people brings the terrorist state closer to failure and punishment, not vice versa, as they think,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“We will not forget any crime, we will not let any invader avoid responsibility.”

In the central city of Uman, at least 23 people were killed when a missile hit an apartment building, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.

“All the glass flew out, everything flew out, even the chandelier fell. Everything was covered in glass,” resident Olha Turina said.

“Then there was an explosion … We barely found our things and ran out.”

Three children were rescued from the rubble, police said.

In the south-eastern 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. Three people were also wounded in the attack.

Ukraine's military said it had shot down 21 of 23 cruise missiles fired by Russia.

Explosions were also reported after midnight in the central cities of Kremenchuk and Poltava, and in Mykolaiv in the south, according to the Interfax Ukraine news agency.

In Ukraine's capital, the anti-aircraft system was activated, said Kyiv City Administration. Air raid sirens started at about 4am, and the alert ended around two hours later. The attack was the first on the city since March 9.

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

Ukraine's air force intercepted 11 cruise missiles and two drones over Kyiv, the city authority said.

There were no immediate reports of any missiles hitting targets in Kyiv but fragments from intercepted missiles or drones damaged power lines. No casualties were reported.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the bombardment showed the Kremlin is not interested in a peace deal.

“Missile strikes killing innocent Ukrainians in their sleep, including a two-year-old child, is Russia’s response to all peace initiatives. The way to peace is to kick Russia out of Ukraine,” he tweeted.

The attacks were the first co-ordinated missile strikes on such a large scale since an apparent easing off of Russian air strikes on civilian infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the Russian-installed mayor of Donetsk city, in eastern Ukraine, said seven people were killed when Ukrainian shelling hit a minibus.

The main focus of fighting has for months been in the eastern city of Bakhmut as Russia tries to capture the remaining areas of the industrial Donbas region that it does not already hold.

Nato said this week that allies and partner countries have delivered more than 98 per cent of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine since the Russian invasion.

Along with more than 1,550 armoured 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.

Non-Nato partner countries, such as Sweden and Australia, have also provided armoured vehicles.