Russian soldiers killed after Ukrainian missile blitz hits Donetsk

Russian soldiers have been killed after a Ukrainian missile blitz destroyed a facility allegedly used by Vladimir Putin 's military in the occupied city of Donetsk. Footage captured a huge fireball explosion in the Kyivsky district of the city. It has been claimed that there was no sound from the missile before the strike in the early evening.

Bodies were seen in the smouldering ruins of the buildings as a huge plume of smoke rose over the city. A message circulating on Telegram channels stated: 'The Kyivsky district of Donetsk was struck today by some new US missiles. No sound of arrival was heard. The class and [type of missile] are currently being established.'

This comes after Russian president Vladimir Putin urged the West not to let Ukraine use its missiles to hit Russia . A woman filming the scene of devastation after the missile strike on Kyivsky Prospekt said: 'Can you imagine how many servicemen were in there?' A man's voice replied: 'Oh my, they hit right on target.' The woman suggested it was a US-supplied HIMARS missile. The man said: 'Oh no, there are bodies of people out there!'

Ukrainian Telegram channel Pravda Gerashchenko said the strike had 'completely destroyed' the Donbassproekt building. Other sources named it as the premises of the Donbassgrazhdanproekt Institute before the war.

Independent news outlet Astra reported: 'The strike hit a building at Kyivsky Prospekt, where, judging by the maps, the Donbassgrazhdanproekt Institute was previously located.' Putin warned on Tuesday that there would be 'serious consequences' if Western countries allowed Ukraine to use their weapons to strike targets in Russia, as sought by Kyiv.

Putin's warning came in response to calls within some NATO members as well as the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg to allow Ukraine to use their arms to step up attacks on Russian soil, in an attempt to end more than two years of fighting. 'This constant escalation can lead to serious consequences,' Putin said during a visit to Uzbekistan.

'In Europe, especially in small countries, they should be aware of what they are playing with,' he said, noting that many European countries had 'small territory' and a 'dense population'. 'And this factor, which they should keep in mind before they talk about striking deep into Russian territory, is a serious thing,' he said.

He added that even if Ukraine's forces carried out the strikes, responsibility for them would lie with Western suppliers of the weapons. 'They want a global conflict,' he said. Western countries have long been wary of being deemed a belligerent in the Ukraine conflict as they provide support to Kyiv.

Putin also said that while he believed Western military instructors were already in Ukraine operating undercover as mercenaries, any move by countries to send them officially would be another 'escalation'.

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