TWO children were among civilians killed in a massive Russian blitz on Ukraine yesterday.
It marked the start of a bid by tyrant Vladimir Putin to freeze the country into submission.
The boys, aged 11 and 14, died in the Dnipropetrovsk region along with two women.
It came as Putin targeted power plants needed to keep families warm.
He continued to shun peace pleas by US President Donald Trump — allowing his blitz to kill two more civilians in the Black Sea port of Izmail.
And his strikes cut off power to 58,000 in Zaporizhzhia.
Russian forces targeted civilian areas a day after five more people died in air raids on Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Ballistic missiles and 79 strike drones were reported to have been deployed.
But Ukraine hit back by unleashing its own killer drones on the southern Russia region of Krasnodar.
Its drones were also reported to have set a Putin “Shadow Fleet” oil tanker ablaze in a deep water berth in the Black Sea port of Tuapse.
Reports suggested the huge vessel sailing under the Liberian flag — part of Putin’s sanctions-busting fleet — was on fire.
The Russian president has stalled and sidestepped Mr Trump’s peace bids, while ramping up attacks.
Pentagon war chiefs last week approved the deployment of American long-range Tomahawk missiles, which could decimate the tyrant’s military.
But Mr Trump is yet to sign off permission for their use.
