Ukraine rains down barrage of Himars missiles on meeting of pro-Kremlin officials in Russian-occupied city

UKRAINE unleashed a barrage of missiles on Russia's headquarters in Kherson yesterday during a meeting of top pro-Kremlin officials.

Ukraine has launched a major offensive to take back territory in the south, including Kherson - the only large city captured by Russian forces in the first few days of the war.

The stunning Ukrainian counter attack has caught Putin’s invaders by surprise and sent thousands of terrified Russian soldiers fleeing for their lives.

On Friday, shocking footage showed smoke billowing from the roof of the city's Russian-occupied administration building after Ukraine's missile attack.

Russian-backed separatists in the city said Ukrainian forces had bombarded government buildings - killing at least three people and leaving 13 wounded.

Pro-Kremlin officials had reportedly been meeting in the building, which served as the headquarters for the Russian occupiers in the area.

Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-installed deputy leader of Kherson, said the Ukrainian missile attack directly hit his office, with five Himars rockets blasting the area, reports.

Eketerina Gubareva, the deputy head of Kherson’s Russian-controlled city hall, was also caught up in the blast.

She wrote on Telegram: "There was smoke and ringing in my ears. I came round when someone pulled me out.

"A young guy dragged me from the ruins. I’m alive, and back at work. We are tallying our staff."

It's not clear if any pro-Kremlin officials were killed in the assault.

Kherson, a strategically important city, is seen as the ultimate target for Ukraine's counter-offensive.

The lightning assault by Ukraine that freed thousands of square miles from Russian occupation has left both sides asking if the blitz could be the tipping point in the war.

Russia has lost an estimated 80,000 soldiers who have been killed, captured and injured or who have deserted, according to government estimates.

It comes as four of Putin’s top officials in occupied Ukraine were killed in explosions in the latest blow to the Russian tyrant.

In one attack, an official organising a bogus referendum on joining Russia was killed alongside her husband.

Lyudmila Boyko headed the election commission in the Zaporizhzhia region, and had been preparing to go along with Kremlin plans for a poll.

She died alongside her husband, Oleg Boyko, 46, who was also a senior local official and they were killed near their garage.

Hours earlier, General Prosecutor of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic Sergey Gorenk, 40, was killed in an explosion in his office alongside his 44-year-old deputy Yekaterina Steglenko.

Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Russian Investigative Committee, accused what it called the “criminal” government in Kyiv for the “monstrous crime”.

The Putin ally added that a criminal case has been opened into the two killings.

Recent weeks have seen an upsurge in targeted assassinations of officials who have been shot, blown up and poisoned for working with the hated invaders.