Tributes to mum and three-month-old baby killed in Russian missile strike on Odesa, as Putin launches fresh assault

TRIBUTES have poured in for a mum and her three-month-old baby killed in a Russian missile strike on Odesa. Valeria Hlodan and her daughter Kira were among eight people to die in Saturday’s barbaric attack which left 18 others injured. Valeria Hlodan and her baby daughter Kira were killed in a Russian rocket attack in Odesa The mum-of-one and her daughter were among eight to die in Saturday’s barbaric attack Twitter/ InnaSovsunVladimir Putin’s latest missile strike hit two residential buildings[/caption] Her husband Yuriy led tributes by posting a photo of his late wife and daughter. The distraught dad wrote: “My dear ones, Kingdom of Heaven! You are in our hearts!”. The picture was shared on the Ukrainian parliament’s official Twitter account. “A charming young mother and her three-month-old child,” the tweet read. 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 “Their lives were taken by Russia today when a Russian rocket hit a residential building in Odesa….RIP, our angels.” Politico reporter Christopher Miller shared a photo from Valeria’s Instagram page announcing Kira’s birth. The image shows a happy Valeria holding her pregnant belly and was captioned: “Those were the best 40 weeks. Our girl is a month old now. Papa gave her her first flowers. It’s a new level of happiness.” A military compound and two residential buildings were stuck by missiles in the southern port city, the president’s chief of staff Andriy Permak said in an online post. Most read in The Sun FURY VS WHYTE Fury KNOCKS OUT Whyte with sensational uppercut at Wembley NUKE ALERT Russia preparing to deploy devastating 'Satan-2' nukes which can wipe out UK SEVEN HEAVEN? Tyson Fury's wife Paris PREGNANT with seventh child, claims pal Carl Froch BANK ON IT Just DAYS left to get free £175 cash GOGGLEFLOP Gogglebox slammed by fans for 'destroying' family viewing with explicit content 'horrible' Laura Whitmore hits back at Love Island star over Iain Stirling job claims 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. 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. “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. Ukraine’s army said the missiles also hit one of its military compound in the southern port cityTwitter A Russian 3M-54 Kaliber seen en route to OdesaTwitter/ UKikaski ReutersEmergency service workers extinguish fire at one of the residential towers[/caption]