Putin’s terror spreads across Ukraine

Vladimir Putin widened his onslaught of Ukraine yesterday ordering attacks on towns and cities that had previously escaped his wrath.

 Kremlin chief struck areas in central and western Ukraine, some hundreds of miles from the capital Kyiv.

Huge explosions illuminated the night sky in Dnipro and Lutsk as residents experienced Russian artillery attacks for the first time.

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In Ivano-Frankivsk, a triple strike hit at first light, said to be targeting an airfield on the edge of the city. Indiscriminate shelling at 4am UK time yesterday left tower blocks and a factory ablaze in Dnipro, killing a security guard.

Meanwhile, the 40-mile convoy of tanks, troops and artillery that had been bearing down on Kyiv in recent days is understood to have moved into strategic firing positions ahead of an all-out assault on the capital.

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Fears have been mounting that Moscow could attempt a repeat at the barbaric bombing used on besieged cities such as Mariupol, with Russian troops now just nine miles from the city.

Satellite images showed howitzer weaponry and suspected rocket launchers being readied, prompting remaining Kyiv residents to take up arms and erect barricades. Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned Russia the city was a fortress.

It comes as military experts say they are baffled by the ineptitude of the tactics displayed by Russia’s armies after drone footage yesterday showed a column of tanks getting picked off one-by-one in an ambush carried out by Ukraine’s forces.

Analysts have said Russian tank commanders allowed the Ukrainians to ambush their unit by driving down the middle of a main road leading into Kyiv – and straight into a death trap. By multiple counts, President Vladimir Putin’s forces have lost more tanks than are operational in entire German army.