Ukraine poised to counter attack as Russian missiles kill at least 25 civilians

Ukraine has said it is almost ready to launch a counter-offensive against the Kremlin’s invasion force, as Russia killed at least 25 civilians in a missile strike that it claimed had disrupted Kyiv’s military preparations.

“Training is being completed, because in addition to (receiving) weapons and military equipment, our military personnel must also learn how to operate them. We have received very modern systems,” Ukrainian defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Friday, listing various missile systems, tanks and other armoured vehicles provided by western allies.

“The equipment itself has been announced, prepared and partially delivered. And there is equipment on which training programmes are being completed, and the crews will remain with it when the time and place (of deployment) are determined. But let’s put it this way: in a broad sense, to a great degree we are ready,” he added.

“Next it is a question for the (military) general staff…As soon as there is God’s will, the right weather and the commanders’ decision, we will do it.”

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Ukraine fought successfully through the winter to prevent Russia occupying additional large swathes of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, while simultaneously preparing for a counter-offensive in which western-supplied weapons will play a major role.

Russian troops along much of the front line have reportedly taken up defensive positions in recent weeks, while continuing to press hard for full control of Bakhmut, a road and rail junction in Donetsk region that has been devasted by months of intense fighting.

In the early hours of Friday, Moscow’s military launched its biggest missile attack on Ukraine in about seven weeks.

The deadliest strike was on the city of Uman in central Ukraine, were at least 23 people were killed, including three children, when a missile slammed into an apartment block housing 100 people. Rescue workers toiled through the day in search of survivors buried in the rubble.

“No one is left,” Serhii Lubivskyi (58) said in Uman as he looked up at the ruins of his neighbours’ apartments. “We felt the impact, we heard the explosion…My neighbours are gone, no one is left…only the kitchens were left standing.”

Explosions also rang out in the central city of Dnieper, where a young woman and child were reported killed in an attack. At least four others were injured in the city.

“Terrorists targeted civilians,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. “This Russian terror must face a fair response from Ukraine and the world. And it will. Every such attack, every evil act against our country and people brings the terrorist state closer to failure and punishment…We will not forget any crime, we will not let any invader avoid responsibility.”

Moscow claims its missile strikes – including those on Ukraine’s power stations and other parts of the national grid – are strikes against legitimate targets that serve Kyiv’s war effort.

“Overnight, the Russian air force carried out a collective rocket strike using long-range high-precision weapons targeting temporary deployment sites of Ukrainian army reserve units,” said Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.

“The target of the strike was achieved. All designated facilities were struck. The advance of the enemy’s reserves into combat zones was thwarted.”

In Geneva, the United Nations committee on the elimination of racial discrimination said it was “deeply concerned about the grave human rights violations committed during the ongoing armed conflict by the Russian Federation’s military forces and private military companies,” and urged Moscow to investigate the issue.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin over his country’s alleged deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia. The Kremlin rejects the allegation and all others against Russian forces.