Russia hits Ukraine with deadly missile salvo, killing 23

Nikopol, Ukraine — Russia fired a barrage of more than 20 cruise missiles and two explosive drones Ukraine Twenty-three people were killed early Friday, The Associated Press said, citing Ukrainian officials. The deadliest blow was a pair of missiles that slammed into an apartment building in downtown Uman, causing death and destruction hundreds of kilometers from any active front line.

At least 17 people were killed in that strike alone, the Associated Press said, citing the governor of the Kiev region, including two 10-year-old children and a toddler. The missile demolished one end of the apartment building while families slept.

“We’re covered in blood,” a young mother whined in a video she posted to social media. “The children slept here … it’s good that everyone is alive.”

As she trained her camera on a burning crater outside her building, she berated the Russians responsible for the attack.

It was a chilling glimpse into the realities of life in Ukraine: nowhere is entirely safe amid the threat of Russian missiles pounding cities indiscriminately and killing civilians in their sleep.

Anton Gerashchenko, a Ukrainian government adviser, shared images of a strike in the city of Dnipro that he says killed a three-year-old girl and a woman.

“Russia continues to terrorize civilians,” he said.

The capital Kiev was also attacked for the first time in about two months. Officials said there were no casualties there, however, as the country’s air defenses shot down 11 missiles and two drones.

Each civilian casualty provides one potential war crimethe head of the United Nations Human Rights Mission in Ukraine told CBS News.

“If you look at the extent of the injuries, the killings, the destruction, it becomes very clear that international humanitarian law, the rules of war, have been broken,” said Matilda Bogner.

Shelling occurs regularly in frontline towns like Nikopol, just across a river from Russian-held territory. There are no military targets in cities like Nikopol or Uman, but that doesn’t stop Russia’s armed forces firing shots into residential neighborhoods to spread terror.