The death toll from a Russian missile strike in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro rose to 40 on Monday, with dozens more missing, making it the deadliest civilian incident of Moscow's three-month campaign of firing missiles at cities far from the front.
Ukraine says the mass civilian deaths, which it describes as terrorism, demonstrate why it needs more weapons to defeat Russian forces 11 months after they invaded. Russia denies intentionally targeting civilians.
German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht resigned on Monday as her government came under rising pressure to let allies send Ukraine German heavy tanks, at the start of what looks like a pivotal week for Western plans to further arm Kyiv.
Officials acknowledged little hope of finding anyone else alive in the rubble of Saturday's attack in the central city of Dnipro, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the rescue operation would go on "as long as there is even the slightest chance to save lives".
"Dozens of people were rescued from the rubble, including six children. We are fighting for every person!" Mr Zelenskyy said in an overnight televised address.
A Russian Х-22 cruise missile hit this nine-story residential building, completely destroying one of the sections. Credit: Global Images Ukraine/Global Images Ukraine via Getty
'We all live in buildings like this one'
Dnipro was in mourning on Monday.
A serviceman in uniform laid flowers and sobbed, clutching his head in grief next to an impromptu shrine to the dead at a bus stop across the street from a gaping hole where the apartment block had stood.
The missile flattened all nine storeys in a section of the long concrete housing unit. Rescue workers shovelled through debris more than 48 hours after the attack.
"We all live in buildings like this one and we all imagine what if it happened to us. It is awful," said Polina, 28, a resident of the neighbourhood.
Russia, which since October has been conducting large scale strikes on Ukrainian cities mainly targeting power generation infrastructure, said it was not to blame for the destruction in Dnipro as it was caused by Ukrainian air defences.
Kyiv says the apartment building was hit by a Russian ship-to-ship missile, a type that Ukraine does not have the capability to shoot down.
At least 40 people were killed in the attack with 30 still unaccounted for, city official Gennadiy Korban said. He said 75 people were wounded, including 14 children.
Tank taboo
Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russian troops invaded Ukraine on 24 February, and about a quarter of the population have fled their homes.
Ukrainian forces recaptured swathes of eastern and southern territory during the second half of 2022. But front lines have largely been frozen in place for the past two months, despite intense fighting in which both sides have taken heavy losses.
Ukraine says a key to breaking the stalemate would be Western battle tanks and armoured vehicles as these would give its forces the capability to break through Russian lines.
Western countries have so far stopped short of sending tanks, loath to provoke the Kremlin which claims Ukraine is fighting on behalf of a broader Western plot to destroy Russia.
The tank taboo was finally broken at the weekend by Britain pledging a first squadron of Challengers to Kyiv.
On Monday it confirmed the supply of 14 Challenger 2 tanks and other hardware including hundreds more armoured vehicles and advanced air defence missiles to "to accelerate Ukrainian success".
In announcing the added military aid, British defence minister Ben Wallace urged Germany to permit the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, stressing that this could unlock support from other nations and Berlin would not be acting alone.
The far more commonly used Leopards are widely seen as the most likely workhorses of a future Ukrainian armoured force, though that would require permits which Berlin has yet to grant.
'Decisive actions'
Germany's allies — especially eastern European states that were once Soviet satellites under Moscow's thumb — have been increasingly direct in their demands that Berlin provide Leopards, or at least grant export permits to let them do so.
"I call for decisive actions by the German government," Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Monday during a visit to Berlin, to applause from a group of lawmakers gathered in the city's Jewish Museum for a gala.
"The battle for freedom and our future is raging as we speak," Mr Morawiecki said. "Tanks must not be left in storehouses, but placed in their hands."
Emergency workers carry a wounded woman after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building on Saturday in Dnipro, Ukraine, on Sunday. Source: AAP / Yevhenii Zavhorodnii
