Three-month-old baby among five dead and 18 injured as Putin launches horrific missile attack on Odesa in fresh assault

A THREE-month-old baby is among five dead and 18 injured in a horrific missile strike on Odesa in a fresh assault ordered by Vladimir Putin. A military compound and two residential buildings were stuck by missiles in the port city in southern Ukraine, the president’s chief of staff Andriy Permak said in an online post. Twitter/ InnaSovsunA three-month-old baby is among five dead and 18 injured in Putin’s latest missile attack on Odesa[/caption] The missiles hit two residential buildings, as well a Ukrainian military compoundTwitter A Russian 3M-54 Kaliber seen en route to OdesaTwitter/ UKikaski It comes as Ukraine‘s military General Staff said Putin‘s troops were continuing their “offensive operations” in eastern Ukraine with the aim of establishing a land corridor between the Donbass and Crimea. Ukrainian forces have in the past 24 hours repelled eight Russian attacks in two regions, destroying nine tanks, 18 armoured units and 13 vehicles, a tanker and three artillery systems, the General Staff said in a Facebook post this morning. Harrowing footage of the attack shows a 3M-54 Kaliber cruise missile en route to Odesa. Other clips surfacing on Twitter appear to show two residential buildings in the port city up in flames moments after being hit by what’s believed to have been Putin’s missiles. MORE ON THE WAR IN UKRAINE WHO NEXT Zelensky warns of Putin's terrifying plans as this is the 'beginning' NUKE ALERT Russia preparing to deploy devastating 'Satan-2' nukes which can wipe out UK It comes as reports emerge that Russian forces attempted a last ditch attempt to storm the Azolstal steelworks in Mariupol – overriding Putin’s orders to blockade the plant so that “not even a fly can get through”. The facility has some 1,000 Ukrainian troops and civilians trapped inside, who are running out of food and medical equipment. “The enemy is trying to strangle the final resistance of the defenders of Mariupol in the Azovstal area,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said on national TV. “They have renewed airstrikes on the plant’s territory, on the area defended by our troops, and are trying to conduct assault operations. Most read in The Sun QUIT OR DIE Harry Maguire given 72 hours to quit Man United or die in vile bomb threat 'horrible' Laura Whitmore hits back at Love Island star over Iain Stirling job claims RON RETURN? How Man Utd could line up against Arsenal with Ronaldo but no Maguire and Pogba TAX BACK Council tax rebate update - list of areas where £150 is hitting accounts THIS WEEK WHERE ARE YOU? EastEnders fans baffled by 'missing' character and say 'he's disappeared!' 'Home sweet home' Ronaldo posts pic with baby girl as Georgina returns home after son loss “Our defenders are holding against a numerically superior enemy, despite an extremely difficult situation, and they even carry out counterattacks.” The latest attack comes as Russia ramps up its brutal military campaign in eastern Ukraine. Hundreds of Ukrainian military facilities have been targeted and cities such as Kharkiv face round-the-clock attacks by Russian missiles and artillery. Russian troops are also said to be active in the nearby town of Izyum. And the Kyiv Post reports that four Russian subs carrying Kaliber cruise missiles have left port and submerged in the Black Sea. Serhiy Bratiuk, a spokesman for the Odesa regional defense administration, said the warships were seen leaving the home base in Crimea and were believed to be on their way to Odesa. He said chances of renewed strikes in the coming days, and perhaps on Orthodox Christian Easter, were high. A grandmother mourns the destruction of her home by a missile strike in Donetsk regionReuters A firefighter tries to extinguish a fire that broke out in a steel warehouse in KharkivReuters