Clouds of thick smoke-shrouded eastern Kharkiv after Russian forces shelled one of the world’s largest markets, Barabashovo. Footage from March 17 filmed by a local resident shows smoke pouring into the air from the site of the airstrike. The shopping mall is one of the biggest in the world and almost 15,000 businesses used to operate there.

Meanwhile, Russian missiles hit an aircraft repair plant in the Ukrainian city of Lviv (west) this morning, destroying the facility, as the Ukrainian authorities said. The plant was not operational and the bombing did not cause any casualties.

Earlier, Ukrainian state television reported that three powerful explosions were heard in the city. A French Agency reporter also reported that he saw a thick plume of smoke rising in the area and police cars and ambulances moving towards the site where the explosions were heard.

In a separate statement, the Ukrainian Air Force said that according to initial reports, the area was hit by four Cruise missiles, which were launched from the Black Sea, several hundred kilometres from the area. Two other Russian missiles were shot down by the Ukrainian air defence before hitting the target, according to the same source.