At least six people were killed when Russian missiles strike civilian buildings in an overnight attack Tuesday. In the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, regional officials said. As rescuers scrambled to retrieve people believed to be trapped under the rubble.
The strike involving Russian cruise missiles hit a five-story residential building. That was engulfed in fire, Gov. Serhiy Lysak of the Dnipropetrovsk region wrote on Telegram.
After initial reports of three dead, Kryvyi Rih mayor Oleksandr Vilkul wrote on the social media app that the death toll had risen to a least six. Seven people were feared trapped under the rubble. Authorities initially said at least two dozen people were wounded.
The devastation in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown is the latest bloodshed in Russia’s war in Ukraine. However, began in February 2022, as Ukrainian forces are mounting counteroffensive operations. Moreover, by using Western-supplied firepower to try to drive out the Russians.
Images from the scene were relayed by Zelenskyy on his Telegram channel. That showed firefighters battling the blaze as pockets of fire poked through multiple broken windows of a building. Charred and damaged vehicles littered the nearby ground.
“More terrorist missiles,” he wrote. “Russian killers continue their war against residential buildings, ordinary cities and people.”
The aerial assault was the latest barrage of strikes by Russian forces that targeted various parts of Ukraine overnight.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, was attacked with Iranian-made Shahed drones. Meanwhile, the surrounding region was shelled, local Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram. The shelling wounded two civilians in the town of Shevchenkove, southeast of Kharkiv.
The mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, separately reported early Tuesday that the drone strike damaged a utility business and a warehouse in the city’s northeast. Neither Terekhov nor Syniehubov referenced any casualties within Kharkiv.
Aerial Assault Continues: Russian Forces Target Various Parts of Ukraine
The Kyiv military administration reported that the capital came under fire as well on Tuesday, but the incoming missiles were destroyed by air defences and there were no immediate reports of any casualties there.
Air defences overnight shot down 10 out of 14 cruise missiles and one of four Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russian forces, Ukraine’s General Staff said on its Facebook page.
Meanwhile, the head of Ukraine’s ground troops said the country’s forces were “moving forward” outside the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.
Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on Telegram that Russian forces are “losing positions on the flanks,” while Ukrainian troops were conducting “defensive” operations in the area.
For weeks, Ukrainian officials have been reporting small gains west of Bakhmut, which was largely devastated in the war’s longest and bloodiest battle before Moscow’s forces took control last month.