Tower block hit with missile battle for Kiev

shocking footage on Saturday showed a missile ripping apart a tower block near Zhuliany airport, while CCTV from inside also shows the extent of the damage after the site was hit.

Images show the building with a hole covering at least five floors blasted into the side and rubble strewn across the street below.

There have been no fatalities recorded from the attack, however, according to an adviser to the interior minister. Anton Herashchenko also said Russia was lying about not shelling civilian infrastructure, claiming at least 40 such sites had been hit.

Some 198 civilians, including three children, have been killed so far by Russian forces attacking the pro-Western country, Ukraine's health minister said today, while 1,115 - including 33 children - have been wounded.

Ukraine has also claimed to have inflicted massive casualties on Russia, saying that more than 1,000 Russian troops were killed in combat on Friday alone. The casualties could but be independently verified.

It comes as a barrage of cruise missiles have also been launched by Russian forces against Ukrainian military facilities.

'Russia has yet to gain control of the airspace over Ukraine greatly reducing the effectiveness of the Russian Air Force,' the UK defence ministry said in an intelligence update posted on Twitter.

But armed forces minister James Heappey said today there was no reason to think a 'happy ending is just around the corner' as he warned the conflict could rumble on for months.

He told BBC Breakfast: 'Nobody should think that this is anywhere near over. What stands in front of Ukraine, its armed forces and very tragically its people, is days, weeks, months more of what we have seen over that last 48 hours.'

Claims that Russia has taken full control of the southern city of Melitopol, however, were dismissed this morning by Mr Heappey.

Meanwhile, the mayor of a city south of the capital says the country's military has fended off a Russian attempt to take control of a military air base.