UKRAINE'S second largest city was pounded by a rush-hour missile blitz yesterday that left at least seven dead and scores injured.
At least 15 S-300 surface-to-air missiles were fired at the sprawling metropolis as Russia's frontline assault stalled.
Loud explosions rang out across the city - one quickly followed by another - as terrified residents ran for underground bomb shelters.
Thick plumes of smoke rose across the skyline at a series of locations as Russia terrorised the very heart of the city.
The Sun's team was among the first at the scene of the deadliest attack which destroyed the Kharkiv Vivat printing house.
Putin accused of surrounding himself with same 'actors' at series of events
We joined brave firefighters, exhausted by the relentless bombardment of recent weeks, to clamber through the rubble as smoke billowed skywards.
Concrete blocks, shattered glass and twisted metal littered the ground as the building revealed the exact entry point of the rocket.
The charred remains of a woman lay nearby as firefighters doused the flames.
Another victim, a bearded man in his 40s, lay lifeless on an ambulance trolley outside before he was transferred to a body bag.
Others tragically followed as the pile of corpses from this indiscriminate morning rocket attack increased.
Ukraine's war crimes prosecutors took photos and sifted through the smouldering debris to locate the warheads shrapnel.
They were photographed as the case against Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin grew.
We were then forced to run for cover amid alerts of a 'double tap' attack before a rocket was downed over Dnipro.
The firefighters took a moment to breathe as tears streamed down their faces from the intensity of the smoke.
Kharkiv's mayor, Ihor Terekhov, told me: "Kharkiv is an indomitable city, a hero city, we are a Ukrainian city
Catholics across the world pray for Pope Benedict XVI as his body lies in state
"We hold on, we will endure. Yes, we are going through very difficult times - but together we will win.
"This is a very dark day for our city but brighter days are ahead."
The mayor added: "These dark days won't defeat us."
He said 50 people were in the Kharkiv Vivat premises - which prints school notebooks for kids - when it was struck.
He fumed: "This place has nothing to do with the military.
"Seven people have died and 16 who were wounded are now receiving treatment in hospital."
Oleh Synehubov, the head of Kharkiv's military administration, said: "This was an extremely brutal Russian attack.
"According to preliminary data, 15 rockets were fired at once.
"Russian terrorists take advantage of the fact that Ukraine still lacks sufficient anti-aircraft defence.
"This weakness is not ours - but the whole world's. Terror must lose everywhere."
Air raid sirens continued to wail throughout the day after the city was rocked by the explosions amid intense battles in the nearby border towns of Vovchansk and Lyptsi.
Fire chief Eugene Vasylenko said: "The people of Kharkiv, what can I say, they are heroes.
"They constantly withstand these blows and are under constant threat.
"Unfortunately, the enemy continues to bombard the city and tries to further intimidate people.
"We will never give up or get scared, we are strong - and we will remain so."
He added: "They have no respect for life."
The aerial bombardment of Kharkiv has stepped up in recent weeks after enemy troops spilled over the border to open up a new front.
The move stretched Ukraine's defenders as reinforcements were sent to repel Russian forces.
Putin insists his troops are creating a buffer zone but fears of a full-scale assault on the city remain.
The Russian tyrant is suffering brutal battlefield losses as his troops advance on Kharkiv and is said to have lost as many as 1,210 troops in a 24-hour period as waves of soldiers poured across the border.
The city is under constant bombardment from artillery fire, missiles and drone strikes - but Ukrainian military chiefs have said Putin's assault is coming at a terrible price.
It was revealed on Sunday that Putin had lost another 16 tanks and 48 artillery systems in the conflict, as well as troops.
Exclusive footage this week showed the top-secret Ukrainian army HQ where Brits have trained 14,000 troops to take on Russian invaders.
The Sun lifted the lid on the operations of the camp, located just a few miles from the frontline in Kharkiv.
We went behind the scenes to reveal the "killhouse" exercises putting soldiers "through their paces" in preparation for meatgrinder battles.
The dramatic video showed Kyiv's troops armed and in combat gear, storming makeshift houses and studying drone warfare.
