Ukraine launched a massive aerial assault on the Russian city of Belgorod overnight, which killed five and injured at least 47.
Video image captured the dramatic moment that Belgorod came under attack from Ukrainian missiles fired from Vampire multiple rocket launchers.
A series of rapid-fire explosions are seen hitting the city, while vehicles on a highway were also targeted.
In one clip, a car driving along a major highway appears to be hit by a missile and explodes into a ball of flames.
The strike comes hours after a residential block of flats in Kharkiv was hit by a Russian glide bomb, that killed seven and wounded at least 97.
Among the dead was a 14-year-old girl and an aspiring 18-year-old artist – Veronika ‘Nika’ Kozhushko.
Serhiy Zhadan, a famous Ukrainian writer, poet, musician and serviceman called her “young, sincere and gifted”.
He added: “The Russians continue to destroy our future. There is no explanation for this. And there is no forgiveness either.”
It is unclear whether Ukraine launched its attack as revenge for the Kharkiv bombing, but Kyiv’s army has been trying in recent days to make incursions into Belgorod region.
Russian sources accused Ukraine of targeting civilians with cluster munitions.
The regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said: “As a result of the shelling of the city of Belgorod from Ukraine, five civilians were killed and 46 civilians were injured.
“There are currently 37 people in hospitals, seven of them are children, one child is in serious condition.”
It comes as Ukraine continues to press on with its military incursion inside the neighbouring Kursk region.
On Friday, Kyiv’s military chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi said his troops had advanced a further 1.2 miles and had gained two square miles in the past 24 hours.
The commander also claimed that the army had captured more Russian prisoners in the process.
Meanwhile, Russia’s army continues to bear down on the key city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.
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