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THIS is the terrifying moment “madman” Putin’s deadly missiles blasted a Ukrainian store on Saturday – killing at least 14 civilians.
Two Russian missiles ripped through a store in the war-torn city of Kharkiv as rescuers fear it could take weeks to identify all of the victims with the number of deaths expected to rise.
A woman was left distraught after the deadly missile attack on a Ukrainian retail park as fears grow that the number of deaths is set to riseEast2West
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Eight-year-old boy Mykhailo giving a DNA sample to rescuers as his family fears his dad is trapped in the rubbleEast2West
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GettyHarrowing CCTV footage taken from moments before the deadly blast shows shoppers casually walking around a DIY store before a giant fireball erupts.
Sparks and debris can be seen flying through the air as massive plumes of black smoke take over the Epicentre construction hypermarket.
Stores were quickly ablaze after the two missiles fired by a S-300 weapons system were unleashed overhead.
Horrified witnesses told The Sun reporter on the scene, Paul Sims, there were 200 people inside the 10,000sqft hypermarket when it was blasted.
Many are still yet to be found in the carnage.
Sims was told by Ukrainians apart of the rescue mission that it could take several weeks to find the names of those who had died.
The main task now is to find and identify everyone who died in the brutal attack. Bring them back to their families
Serhiy BolvinovThis is because relatives would need to provide DNA samples due to the severity of the attack and the state of the corpses it left behind.
Kharkiv police chief Serhiy Bolvinov, said: “Investigators and criminologists were looking for something that can be recognised as a human body all night long in this charred area.
“We are afraid that we will have to sift through the ashes in order to find the remains and identify the dead.
“The main task now is to find and identify everyone who died in the brutal attack. Bring them back to their families.”
Heartbreaking pictures show an eight-year-old boy named Mykhailo giving a DNA sample to rescuers as his family fears his dad is trapped in the rubble.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky quickly condemned Putin’s ruthless killing of innocent civilians as he spoke on the “brutal blow” to Kharkiv.
He said hours after the ordeal: “Russian strikes on Kharkiv are yet another example of Russian madness – there is no other way to describe it.
“Only insane people like Putin are capable of killing and terrorising people in such heinous ways.”
The attack hit a busy retail park with a petrol station, supermarkets and even a McDonald’s.
The shop that was targeted is said to be the equivalent to B&Q in the UK, containing dozens of flammable and chemical products inside.
The construction megastore is feared to have ignited when it was struck by Putin‘s two missiles fired by a S-300 weapons system.
Russia suggested the Epicentre outlet was a military target linked to Ukrainian military intelligence.
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Sims arrived at the scene of the explosion just minutes after it happened and found carnage quickly swell around him.
He saw bodies lying in the car park next to abandoned trolleys following the deadly attack.
One of those dead was laid star-shaped next to a trolley in the car park.
Another body was slumped nearby.
Emergency services raced to put out the flames as loud bangs from inside the building erupted amid a desperate rescue operation.
Only insane people like Putin are capable of killing and terrorising people in such heinous ways
Volodymyr ZelenskyThe Ukrainian leader also sent out a desperate plea for help to leaders across the globe.
Zelensky said: “If Ukraine had enough air defence and modern combat aircraft, such Russian strikes would simply be impossible.
“We need a significant strengthening of air defence and sufficient capabilities to destroy Russian terrorists.
“A task that needs to be done and can only be done together with the world. Every day we appeal to the world: give us air defence, save people.
“Every support decision not taken is a loss of our people.”
Dmytro Syrotenko, a 26-year-old who was working in the retail park when it was attacked said he was forced to crawl around the ground after heavy debris fell on top of him and a colleague.
Dmytro miraculously escaped the nightmare but was left with a large gash on the side of his face.
SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported explosions at 4.02pm local time, confirming the city had been struck.
In a statement on Telegram, he said: “We have a large number of people missing. Many wounded.
“Judging by everything, the attack was aimed at the shopping centre, where there were many people – this is pure terrorism.”
Hero Brit volunteer Tony Ferret, 34, of Rye, Kent, was among those trying to help as the sky filled with black smoke.
He told The Sun: “This is a shopping centre, a retail park. It’s Saturday and people were doing their shopping.
“It’s like hitting Tesco’s. This isn’t a military site. This was packed full of civilians.
“They’re whacking us hard – they have no respect for human life.”
Tony added: “No one came out of that building. No one survived.
“It’s a disgusting day. Very emotional, to be honest.”
Sims was told by Ukrainians undertaking the rescue mission that it could take several weeks to identify the dead due to the brutality of the strikes and the number of potential victims.
Cops are using CCTV from the premises before the rocket attack to determine exactly how many people were inside so they can continue the search for bodies.
A police spokesman said: “Near the place of the hit, the work of the headquarters of the investigative department has been deployed.
“Here, relatives of the missing can provide their DNA samples for the identification of bodies that may be found in the hypermarket premises.
“The exact number of victims is being determined.”
In one of Ukraine’s darkest days since the war began, a residential apartment block and a park in Kharkiv were also blitzed by Russian missiles.
The Sun’s team saw a massive crater near the flats – with fears of more dead in the besieged city.
Meanwhile, Ukraine claimed Putin’s Russia reached a grim milestone after losing more than 500,000 soldiers in their failing war.
Kyiv said Moscow’s crumbling army has also lost some 22,000 tanks and armoured vehicles and nearly 700 aircraft since the invasion.
Putin's invasion in Kharkiv
By Paul Sims
UKRAINE’S second largest city of Kharkiv was blitzed from the air on May 10 as advancing enemy troops were pegged back.
They fired missiles, drones and glider bombs towards the border towns of Vovchansk, Lyptsi and beyond.
The relentless daily bombardment from the skies was stepped up as Ukraine’s warriors repelled a series of ground offensives.
In a town 15 miles from the frontline, the residents of a quiet residential street were among the latest casualties of Russia’s onslaught.
We found Vasyl Lutsenko, 67, at the base of a tree overlooking the charred remains of the home he and wife Olena have shared for the last 24 years.
Their property was hit by an Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drone shortly after 2am and burned to the ground.
It hit their Summer kitchen before the flames spread instantly to the main house and the neighbours next door.
The timber frames were still smouldering as we arrived yesterday amid piles of brickwork and masonry, twisted metal and their charred possessions.
The roof is no more and all that remains of the lives they created here is a wasteland of treasured memories.
Bearded Vasyl manages a smile as he mentions Boris Johnson and says he and Olena, 58, are lucky to be alive. He is already talking about rebuilding.
But it is too much for Olena who suddenly breaks down and shakes her head as a tear rolls down her cheek.
The Lutsenko home is the latest to be struck by the indiscriminate attacks that have increased daily over the last three weeks.
Extraordinary video footage taken by firefighters hours earlier showed their two-bedroom home engulfed by flames.
Vasyl and Olena escaped via their bedroom window after it was blown in by the power of the blast.
Olena was in her slippers but is now wearing a pair of trainers donated by a neighbour.
Vasyl says: “The world needs to understand that we cannot stop Vladimir Putin on our own.
“The whole world needs to end Putin. He won’t stop. You will have the war in London and around your home if he is not stopped.
“Today, we have great news. We are alive and I suspect this dumbf*** Putin will be dead soon.
“He’s a d***head.”
Next door, Oleksii Yakhno, 71, is surveying the devastating damage to the home he and wife Olga, 68, have lived in for the last 51 years.
Oleksii was asleep in a back bedroom and his wife was on a sofa bed in the kitchen when the drone struck.
Olga cried out to her husband to save the family car, a purple 13 series Lada, as the ceilings caved in.
He did as he was told and ran out in his pants, diving into the front seat as the flames tore through the garage.
Tearful Oleksii tells me: “My wife saw the neighbour’s summer kitchen hit by the drone.
“It caught fire immediately and my wife told me to go and save our car.
“I went off – even in my underwear – ran into the garage and started the engine.
“Over the last few years I’ve been saving money so that my daughter’s can pay for my funeral when I’m dead, but it’s all gone.”
His eyes fill with tears as he says: “I don’t have any feelings – just that I have lost the roof over my head.
“The home and everything we owned is gone – I just don’t know what to do.
“Maybe I would be better off dead. It’s very, very bad. What can I do now? I have lived my entire life here.”
Local Mayor Ihor Terekhov told The Sun: “People are left with nothing right now. We will definitely help them and do our best to rebuild their lives.
“The Russian aggressor is carrying out crimes every day against the Ukrainian nation.”
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