Dozens of Ukrainian civilians were injured and others trapped after Russia attacked a nine-story civilian apartment complex in the east-central Ukrainian city of Dnipro near the border with Zaporizhzhia on Saturday.
In videos posted to social media, the screams of people trapped inside the demolished building echoed as dust filled the air and rescue teams worked to help victims trapped in the attack.
At least 27 people were injured, including six children, and at least two people were killed in the attack, Valentin Reznichenko, regional governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said on Telegram.
A view shows an apartment building heavily damaged by a Russian missile attack, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine, January 14, 2022. Dnipropetrovsk Region Governor Valentyn Reznichenko via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS.
(Governor of the Dnipropetrovsk Region Valentyn Reznichenko via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS)
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Reznichenko said all those who had been recovered were taken to hospital while searches and debris removal continued.
“All the services are working,” he said. “We are fighting for every person, every life.”
An unknown number of missiles struck the building, partially destroying the second through ninth floors in the early afternoon local time.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to Twitter to condemn the attacks, saying: “Eternal memory to all those whose lives were taken by Russian terror.”
“The world must stop the evil,” he continued, adding that debris removal was underway. “All services are working. We are fighting for every person, every life. We will find everyone involved in the terror.”
The attacks in Dnipro came just hours after air-raid sirens sounded in Kyiv amid a thick layer of fog as a fresh round of missile fire hit the capital after two weeks had passed without a single air strike. drones or missiles.
Ukrainian officials said civilian infrastructure had been damaged, but no casualties were reported.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschk said explosions were heard in the residential area of Dniprovskyi district on the left bank of the Dnieper river and fragments of missiles fell to the south in non-residential areas of Holosiivskyi district where a fire broke out. .
Fog blankets the city center of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, January 14, 2023. A series of explosions rocked Kyiv on Saturday morning and minutes later, air-raid sirens began wailing as an apparent missile attack on the ukrainian capital.
(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
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Another 18 houses were also damaged along with a “critical infrastructure facility” on the outskirts of the city, according to regional governor Oleksii Kuleba.
Although Russia has routinely attacked Kyiv with missile strikes since the war broke out nearly 11 months ago, including a heavy shelling raid during the Christmas season, Saturday’s strikes were the first Russia launched on the capital since the New Year began.
The reduction in attacks could signal a decline in missile stockpiles, as Western defense officials repeatedly said that Russia would not be able to sustain the level of attacks it was carrying out just weeks ago.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said the missiles likely “flew on a ballistic trajectory” from northern Ukraine, Ukrainian news outlet Pravda reported.
It is unclear where exactly the missiles were fired from, as Russian troops have placed missiles from Belarus and within its own borders.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko visits a Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces checkpoint, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 6, 2022.
(REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko)
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Ihnat said officials were still investigating the missile fragments to determine if they were actually S-300 ballistic or anti-aircraft missiles.
The official stressed that Ukraine has no way to stop ballistic missiles, although Ukrainian soldiers will begin training in the US next week on the Patriot missile system, which is capable of shooting down ballistic and aircraft-launched missiles.
Ihnat also reported that Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers were airborne and being monitored, though he said it was unclear if they intended to launch their own strikes.
A dog walks through the rubble of houses destroyed by a missile attack on the outskirts of Kyiv, on December 29, 2022, following a Russian missile attack on Ukraine.
(GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images)
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At least two S-300 missiles were also launched against “energy and industrial objects” in the Kharkiv region, its regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Saturday.
Emergency power outages were immediately performed, but no casualties were reported.
Strikes were also reported in Lviv on Saturday.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
