'Dozens killed & hundreds wounded' with limbs blown off as Putin begins carpet-bombing civilians after failed invasion

RUSSIA unleashed a civilian slaughter with a devastating missile and rocket bombardment – as two-faced Kremlin officials met to talk about peace.

Dozens of innocent of people are believed to have been killed and hundreds more hurt as a barrage of Grad rockets and Smerch missiles smashed into Kharkiv, the second city of Ukraine.


The horrific midday massacre came as thousands of desperate residents queued outside supermarkets for food.

It came as Ukraine and Russia are meeting for peace talks on the border with Belarus amid Putin's stalled invasion.

Russia troops have been given a bloody nose as their tanks and trucks are left burnt out by the roadside by brave Ukrainian defenders.

Footage showed multiple blasts raining down on Kharkiv in quick succession – thought to be unguided Grad rockets or banned cluster bombs.

Both are considered “area weapons” because they are not accurate enough for precision strikes.

Russian fighter bombers were also seen roaring over the city – which has seen some the bloodiest fighting since the start of the war last Thursday.

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Harrowing footage showed crumpled bodies and streets smeared with blood.

A woman appeared to have lost a foot.It came amid chilling warnings that Russian generals have been ordered to take the city at all costs.

The devastating attack hit the north east of the town where a Russian attempt to take the city was forced to retreat on Sunday.

Hours before the latest bombardment The Sun had watched the city’s defenders fight street battles with Russian infantry.

A convoy of Russian Tiger trucks, used by Spetznaz special forces, had sneaked into the city before dawn.

It comes as…

  • Ukraine faces a "crucial 24 hours" as officials from Kyiv and Moscow sit down for high level peace talks
  • Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is reportedly assisting in the peace process
  • UK defence sec Ben Wallace warned Vladimir Putin's forces could unleash an "indiscriminate and ruthless" bombing campaign
  • Russia fears a bank run and civil unrest after crushing Western sanctions were imposed over the weekend
  • Heartbreaking scenes show thousands of Ukrainian kids separated from their dads at the border
  • And a little girl, 6, wearing unicorn pyjamas was killed in a Russian airstrike as doctors told reporters 'show this to Putin'
  • Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is being hailed as a hero after he went from being a comedian to a war time leader
  • Putin has been accused of taking muscle-boosting steroids that may be giving him roid rage

They appeared to be part of a lightly armed pincer movement, backed by soft-akin army lorries.

Residents were ordered to stay indoors and take shelter as soldiers, special forces, police and civil defence volunteers launched a counter-attack.

The Russians were ambushed by Ukrainian forces and soldiers fled into a nearby homes as they tried to retreat on foot.Ukrainian troops fired volleys of rocket propelled grenades at suspected Russian hideouts.

It is though the Russians made a last stand in a nearby school which was burned to the ground overnight.

The Sun saw a tank called up to the fight to flush them out of their hideout.

🔵 Read our Russia – Ukraine live blog for the very latest updates

Meanwhile, UK defence secretary Ben Wallace warned that Putin could begin "ruthless" and "indiscriminate" bombing amid the slow progress of his invasion.

Mr Wallace said that Russia's forces are "strung out" and "behind schedule" as they face a tough Ukrainian resistance.

The much larger and supposedly better armed Russian army has found itself grinding to a halt and having little success.

Ukraine claims it has killed, captured or incapacitated 5,300 soldiers, destroyed 151 tanks, blown up 816 armoured vehicles, and shot down 58 warplanes and helicopters.

It is believed the invasion is costing Russia at least £15billion a day – and it could totally fail unless Putin make significant progress within ten days.

And this money burning exercise could see Moscow left without enough cash to prop up the invasion.

But this embarassing state of play of the Russians – who expected they could roll in and take the capital in days – could force Vlad's hand to try and stamp out the defenders.

Mr Wallace said although the Ukrainians were putting up "a very strong fight" the reality was they were going up against "the overwhelming scale of the Russian Federation Army".

Putin "convinced himself that all these people would somehow welcome them with Russian flags and thank them for being great liberators", he said.

But instead the Ukrainian resistance had made these plans "go awry" – but he warned the offensive is likely to become "more violent".

Mr Wallace said: "So we have to brace ourselves for what may come next, which could be ruthless, indiscriminate bombing of cities and propelling forward of soldiers and high casualty levels, and that's going to be horrific."



Pictures show the utterly devastating impacts of what had long been warned to potentially become Putin's very own Vietnam War – a slow, costly, grinding defeat.

Burned out Russian vehicles and dead soldiers have been seen scattered across Ukraine.

And there have also been reports of Putin's tanks running out fuel and other supplies as Moscow was stunned by the level of fightback by Kyiv.

One video shows a Russian tank crew standing by their broken down vehicle as they are taunted by a Ukrainian driver on the roadside.

Another clip shows one of Putin's 'Z' tanks being towed away by a tractor, and other footage shows a pair of tanks stuck in the mud.

Ukrainian locals and militia have been raiding the abandoned Russian vehicles for weapons themselves – only adding to Putin's humiliation.

Other footage has shown Russian tank convoys reported blown up by drones as Moscow failed to gain control of the airspace over Ukraine.

And at least one Russia helicopters has also been caught on camera appearing to crash in a ball of flame.

Ukrainians have described seeing Russian troops simply being picked off "one-by-one" in street battles.

Back at home, the Kremlin appears to be preventing details of deaths – and woundings – from reaching soldier's families.

US intelligence sources claim there is growing frustration in Moscow over the sluggish advance.

Russia has made no official announcement of its war dead amid the ongoing invasion.

Russia is known have deployed more devastating weapons – such as thermobaric artillery – to the region, which are not yet believed to have been deployed against Ukraine.

However, Mr Wallace also downplayed the nuclear threat from Russia after Putin announced his forces were now on "high alert".

"We've looked at their posture. There isn't a significant change," he said on LBC radio, accusing Putin of trying to "flex muscles" with his invasion bogged down.

Wallace said he had assured his 12-year-old son: "No, we're not going to have a nuclear war.

"What I've said to him is, look, President Putin is dealing at the moment in a rhetoric, he wants to distract from what's gone wrong in Ukraine, and he wants us all to be reminded that he has a nuclear deterrent."

But Britain, France and the United States had their own nuclear deterrence available, Wallace stressed: "It's kept us safe for decades. It is a deterrent by definition and design."

The minister said the progress of Russia's advance into Ukraine was deteriorating, telling BBC radio in a separate interview: "There are many reports of Russians either sort of deserting or surrendering.

"Because they are confused as much as anyone why they are engaged in a war with people they're probably related to."




With Putin's hopes of a rapid victory crushed, the tyrant has been forced to the negotiating table for the first time – but it is unclear how successful such talks will be.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his country faces a "crucial" 24 hours in a call with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Ukraine holds out no great hope after agreeing to talks with Russia in Belarus – the launchpad for attacks on Kyiv.

"But let them try," said Zelenskyy.

Before dawn, explosions were heard in the capital city and also in the country's second largest city Kharkiv.

Powerful blasts were also reportedly heard in the cities of Cherkasy and Chernihiv as the brutal barrage continues.

Ukraine's army says it fought off several attempts by Russian forces to storm the outskirts of Kyiv overnight with the capital also hit by three missile strikes.

Russia has so far fired more than 350 missiles at Ukraine, with many hitting civilians.

Moscow has failed to win full control of Ukraine's airspace, despite advances across the country.

US officials say they believe the invasion has been more difficult, and slower, than the Kremlin envisioned – sparking concern Putin could start to use even more vicious weapons.

"It appears that they are adopting a siege mentality, which any student of military tactics and strategy will tell you, when you adopt siege tactics, it increases the likelihood of collateral damage," a US official said.

It is estimated nearly 400,00 civilians, mainly women and children, have now fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries.


EU commissioner for crisis management Janez Lenarcic said: "We are witnessing what could become the largest humanitarian crisis on our European continent in many, many years."

Russia faces a day of economic pain after the imposition of crushing new sanctions.

Brutal new measures rolled out over the weekend designed to cut off Russia could trigger a run on the banks as the rouble is now in "free fall".

Meanwhile, Putin's closest ally, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko – who is known as Europe's Last Dictator, accused the West of "pushing Russia into World War 3".

Ahead of the United Nations holding a rare emergency meeting of its General Assembly over the crisis, the Prime Minister also told Ukraine the UK would do all it could to send more arms.

Mr Johnson said Mr Putin's nuclear order appeared to be an attempt to divert from the fact that his efforts to re-make the post-Cold War order in Europe were failing.

President Putin sent shock waves through Western capitals with his instruction on Sunday to his top military leaders to put the strategic nuclear deterrent on a "special regime of combat duty".

The US said it was "completely unacceptable" while a senior US defence official was quoted as warning the Russian leader had made any "miscalculation… much, much more dangerous".

Lukashenko insisted sanctions being handed down by countries including the UK and US are propelling Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

"Now there is a lot of talk against the banking sector, gas, oil, SWIFT," he said.

"It's worse than war. This is pushing Russia into a Third World War. 

"We need to be restrained here so as not to get into trouble. Because nuclear war is the end of everything."

Earlier, Lukashenko had warned the war in Ukraine will "become a meat grinder" if it continues.

"The conflict in Ukraine is the thin edge of the wedge. Believe me, I know what I’m talking about. If it continues like this, the worst will happen," he said.

"He (Zelenskyy) will not be hidden in any American or some other bunker. That’s why the war should be ended today.

"I wouldn’t even call it the war. This is a conflict. The war will last for one-two days, but there will be a meat grinder in three days."

Diplomats from Kyiv and Moscow are set to meet "without preconditions" near the Pripyat River on the Belarusian border as Putin's invasion rumbles on for the fourth day.

Zelenskyy had previously refused to negotiate in Belarus, but according to Kuleba, Belarus' president told him there would be "no such move" as long as the planned talks go ahead.

But Zelenskyy admitted he's not confident of a positive resolution from the talks, saying: "I do not really believe in the outcome of this meeting, but let them try, so that later not a single citizen of Ukraine has any doubt that I, as president, tried to stop the war."




It comes after Putin put his nuclear forces on high alert just after warning the West "may face the greatest consequences in history".

The Russian tyrant is said to be "furious" he's not been able to subdue Ukraine and lashed out at NATO for its "unfriendly measures" he says forced him into the chilling nuclear gamble.

The move means Putin has ordered the world's largest stockpile of nuclear warheads prepared for launched readiness – raising the terrifying possibility the crisis and a miscalculation could spill over into nuclear war.

In an address on state TV, Putin claimed aggressive statements by NATO leaders and economic sanctions against Moscow have forced his hand.

He said "not only do Western countries take unfriendly measures" such as "illegal sanctions" but "top officials of leading NATO countries allow themselves to make aggressive statements with regards to our country".

Putin said he has now ordered his military command to put Russia's deterrence forces – a reference to units which include nuclear arms – on high alert.

"I order the defence minister and the chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces to put the deterrence forces of the Russian army into a special mode of combat service," Putin said.

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “a disastrous, misbegotten venture by President Putin” which “can lead to no good” for Russia.

The PM told the Ukrainian Cathedral of the Holy Family that he holds "no hostility" to the Russian people but there is "no possible excuse" for its leadership to choose to invade Ukraine.

He said: "I'm going to stress that there is no hostility in my heart towards the Russian people, none whatever – quite the reverse.

"My heart aches for the Russian parents who are already losing their children in this vicious and appalling war – just as it aches for the civilians and the people of Ukraine.

"But when it comes to the Russian leadership who chose this path of violence, and I stress chose this path of violence and aggression, there can be no possible excuse.

"And never in all my study or memory of politics and international affairs have I seen so clear a distinction between right and wrong, between good and evil, between light and dark. And that is the real reason why is Ukraine is our neighbour today."

Mr Johnson said the UK will be “very generous” over Ukrainian refugees coming to Britain, with a system that lets people enter the country when they are in fear of persecution, to reunite with family or “other purposes”.

He added that Putin putting Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces on high alert was “a distraction from the reality of what’s going on in Ukraine” and praised Ukrainians for “fighting back perhaps with more effect, with more resistance, than the Kremlin had bargained for”.

Meanwhile, the UK is to provide a further £40million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, the Government has announced.

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