San Francisco Frontiers - Children among heavy casualties in Ukraine after Russian strikes

Windows shattered in the powerful blast in Pryluky, in the Chernigiv region, reducing one half of the five-storey building into a smoking pile of charred concrete and twisted metal.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said three of the 18 victims of the strike were just 12 months old while another was aged eight.

Seven other children were among dozens wounded and one child was among 15 rescued, he wrote on social media, accusing Russia of knowingly striking "ordinary cities, ordinary life".

"The continued use of missiles against Ukraine, against our people, our children, is an absolutely deliberate choice of terror," he said.

"We were at home, sleeping," Olena Sayun, a 40-year-old massage therapist, told AFP at the scene of the blast.

"Our windows blew out. Thank God, we covered the child with our bodies. My husband got a few cuts on his back and I did too...

"The child just had a nervous breakdown, got very scared. We immediately ran to the bathroom and then, while everything in the apartment was being blown apart, we stayed in there."

"All our kids are about the same age -- 10, 8, 14, 11," she added. "They all played in our courtyard, on the playground, every single day. We knew them all very well."

The strike, which locals said happened at about 6:30 am (0330 GMT), came after Zelensky on Tuesday warned of a "massive" Russian attack, particularly targeting energy infrastructure.

Two people were killed when missiles slammed into high-rise buildings in Dnipro and Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, while two others lost their lives in Oleksandriya, he added.

In the capital, Kyiv, two people died in a fire caused by a strike in the densely populated Darnytskyi neighbourhood, the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

- Air raid sirens -

Kyiv has come under increased attack in recent weeks as winter approaches, with air raid sirens wailing nearly constantly to warn of incoming Russian strikes.

Worried residents hunkered down for the night in subway stations overnight, hauling duffel bags, sleeping mats and blankets.

"We grabbed our things and came here, we live right next door," Iryna Rybalchenko, who works in a bank, told AFP, sitting on the platform wrapped in a dark hoodie and surrounded by bags.

"The whole of Kyiv is in a state of fear. We were stuck at work today and everyone –- our group chats, our bosses –- were messaging us to be careful."

Russia launched at least 50 missiles and 130 drones overnight against several regions including Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Poltava, Ukraine's air force said.

Zelensky, who called it "one of the most vile strikes" in the nearly five-year conflict, said some were shot down but ballistic missiles were "the greatest challenge" and new air defences were essential to help Ukraine defend itself.

"I don't see any military significance in this at all," said Yuliia Shamrai, 31, who works in online marketing and lives near the stricken building in Pryluky.

Asked why they had been hit, she added: "Just to break people, the civilian population that was peacefully sleeping."

- 'Absolutely terrified' -

Kyiv mayor Klitschko warned last week the capital should now be on a war footing after repeated strikes on bridges and energy infrastructure.

Scheduled power cuts on Tuesday plunged parts of Kyiv into darkness to ease the pressure on the battered grid, and generators cranked into life.

The air force said on Wednesday morning that it had intercepted five ballistic missiles, as well as 39 cruise missiles and over 100 drones.

Ukraine has been struggling to down the new and fast-moving jet-powered drones, as well as the ballistic missiles that are harder to intercept.

Concern has mounted about rising civilian casualties on both sides, as Ukraine also steps up its long-range attacks on Russian targets it says are vital to its war effort.

"The children were absolutely terrified. Whenever there's heavy shelling, we try to head underground," Daria Medvedeva, 36, told AFP.

Zelensky said Ukraine's "just responses" to Russian strikes saw it hit two oil facilities and a training ground in the Perm, Samara and Astrakhan regions, as well as the Black Sea.

B.Ramirez--SFF