Olga Putyatina, 35, and her 10-month-old child were among seven people killed in the fires that destroyed at least 15 houses. After a gas station in Kharkiv, Ukraine was hit by Russian drones, an apocalyptic massacre unfolded in Ukraine's second largest city.
Fifty-seven people were injured in the attacks, which also involved Iranian-designed drones deployed by Russia.
A family of two adults and three children were "held hostage in their home because of a fire that spread from the gas station to their own home," said a statement by inspector Serhiy Bolvinov.
"The father's body was found in the hallway of the house, and those of the mother and children in the bathroom," Bolvinov said.
Relatives of the victims have been asked for DNA samples to help identify them. Kharkiv district prosecutor Olga Putyanita, who was on maternity leave, and her three children were confirmed dead in the bathroom of their home.
Olga was holding her youngest baby, Pavlo, and trying to protect her other children, seven-year-old Oleksiy and three-year-old Mykhailo.
Bolvinov said: "The burning temperature was so high that the baby's bones and body were almost reduced to ashes. We assume that the mother was holding, hugging and pressing her children to her chest."
