UKRAINE said it was nearly ready to launch a huge ground assault to retake occupied land after Russia hurled missiles at cities as people slept overnight, killing at least 25 civilians in its first large-scale air strikes in nearly two months. The war is coming to a crucial juncture after a months-long Russian winter offensive that gained little ground despite the bloodiest fighting so far. Kyiv is preparing a counteroffensive using hundreds of tanks and armoured vehicles sent by the West. It wants to drive Russia out of the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine that it occupies and claims to have…