Uman (Ukraine) (AFP) - Russian strikes battered cities across Ukraine early Friday, killing at least 16 people as Kyiv said preparations for a highly-anticipated offensive against Moscow's forces were nearly complete.
The barrage of almost two dozen missiles overnight ended a weeks-long pause following the repeated Russian strikes that had aimed to paralyse Ukraine's energy grid during the winter months.
These deadly new attacks included a strike on a residential block in Uman, central Ukraine, where AFP journalists saw rescue workers extracting victims' remains from destroyed buildings.
"I want to see my children, they are under the rubble," said Dmitry, a 33-year-old local from Lugansk, a northeastern city under Russian control.
Rescuers were using cranes to search for survivors among the remains of the multi-storey housing block in the central city of 80,000 inhabitants.
"I've seen a lot but I haven't lost my children before.Now I want to see my children alive or dead," Dmitry said.
Ukraine's interior minister said 14 people had been killed in Uman, with two ten-year-old children among the dead.
Regional governor Igor Taburets said the city was hit by two cruise missiles, with one hitting a residential building and the other a warehouse.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the latest barrage and vowed a response to "Russian terror".
Preparations 'coming to an end'
Russian missiles also hit the central city of Dnipro, already grief-stricken after a January strike on a tower block that killed more than 40 people.
"A young woman and a three-year-old child died," the city's mayor Borys Filatov said Friday on Telegram.
Kyiv, which was among the cities targeted Friday, had not been hit by missiles in more than 50 days.
While it has not faced missile barrages since early March, the capital was the target last week of an attack by 12 Iranian-made drones, eight of which were shot down without causing any casualties.
Authorities did not report any casualties in the capital, where air defence forces downed 11 cruise missiles.
Overall, Ukraine said it had downed 21 of 23 Russian missiles and two attack drones overnight.
Ukraine's air defence system has been bolstered in recent months by the delivery of Western equipment crucial to the country's war effort.
The new strikes came as Ukrainian defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov said his country's preparations to push back against entrenched Russian positions were almost complete.
"Equipment has been promised, prepared and partially delivered.In a global sense, we're ready," Ukrainian defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov said.
Moscow vows to rebuild Bakhmut
Kyiv has said throughout the war launched by Russia last February that it is intent on repelling Moscow's forces from territory they control in eastern and southern Ukraine.
"Preparations are coming to an end," Reznikov added of the planned offensive.
Most of the fighting is now taking place in the east for control of the industrial Donbas region, particularly the city of Bakhmut, which has been almost completely destroyed.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said Friday he had paid a rare visit to the embattled city in east Ukraine and vowed Moscow would rebuilt it.
"The city is damaged, but it can be restored.As soon as the operational situation allows, we will go in and work, step by step," he said.
In need of allies to support its drawn-out war effort, Moscow has cultivated its relationship with China.
Beijing says it is neutral in the Ukraine conflict and Xi has never condemned the Russian invasion but the Chinese leader has however come under increased pressure.
The leaders of Ukraine and China spoke by phone this week, with Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly advocating peace negotiations.
Xi and Zelensky's nearly one-hour discussion on Wednesday was met by Russian accusations that Ukraine was undermining efforts to end the fighting.
"Missile strikes killing innocent Ukrainians in their sleep, including a 2-years-old child, is Russia's response to all peace initiatives," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted after Friday's attack.
The Kremlin said Thursday it welcomed any attempt to end the Ukrainian conflict, on Moscow's terms following the call.
"We are ready to welcome anything that can bring forward the end of the conflict in Ukraine and the achievement of Russia's goals," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
