May 2, 2023: Russia revealed a new volley of missiles on Ukraine overnight, which caused massive blazes in a city in the east, which damaged dozens of houses and wounding nearly 34 people.

The Pavlohard attack came in the second wave of nationwide missile strikes in three days. Moscow revived its winter tactic of long-range strikes ahead of a planned Ukrainian counter attack.

An enormous crater had been blasted in the backyard of a house strewn with debris on Pavlohrad’s outskirts. Homes nearby were severely damaged. In the centre of the city, the windows of a dormitory serving a chemical plant had been blowing out.

“I ran outside and experienced the garage was damaged. Everything was on fire; glass shards were all over. Had we been out, we would have been murdered,” the resident Olha Lytvynenko aged 61, stated.

Viktoriia Suprun, aged 41, stated that she had taken cover with her daughter in the dormitory hallway.

“We rushed to the hallway and laid on the floor. And then the blast wave twisted the door. Had we remained for five more seconds, we would have been caught here,” she stated.

“We could not sleep at night and in the morning. The child will need psychological support; it is horrible.”

Mykola Lukashuk, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk region council, stated the attack had affected 19 apartment blocks, almost 25 houses, three institutions, three kindergartens and many shops. The 34 wounded had five children, the region’s head said.

The city is in southeastern Ukraine, behind the war’s main eastern and southern front lines.

Russia’s defence ministry stated that its forces had struck using high-precision long-range air and sea-related missiles against “Ukraine’s military-industrial facilities”.

“The aims of the strike were achieved,” it said.

“The work of enterprises which creates ammunition, weapons and military equipment regarding Ukrainian troops has been disrupted,” it further stated.