Russian barrage on Ukrainian cities claims 12 lives, injures dozens
At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured across Ukraine during an overnight Russian attack. Ukraine's Air Force reported that Russia deployed 367 different missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles in the assault. This marked the largest airstrike on Ukrainian cities since the beginning of the war.
Ukraine's Interior Minister, Ihor Klymenko, reported that by 09:00 on Sunday, due to the massive, combined attack, 12 people had died and more than 60 were injured.
The largest attack on Ukraine since the beginning of the war
According to the State Emergency Service (DSNS), three children aged 8, 12, and 17 were killed in Zhytomyr, and a 77-year-old man was killed in Mykolaiv.
The attack came a day after one of the most powerful offensives on Ukraine's capital since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
The head of the Khmelnytskyi region administration, Serhii Turyn, reported four fatalities and five injuries as a result of the latest Russian attacks. Six detached houses were destroyed, more than 20 were damaged, windows were shattered in an educational facility, and public transport was damaged.
The head of the Kyiv region administration, Mykola Kalashnyk, reported three killed and ten injured. He published photos on social media of several houses set ablaze following the Russian attacks.
Later, the DSNS reported that the number of victims had increased to four dead and 16 injured, including three children. In Kyiv, according to the authorities, 11 people were injured, with many fires and damage to residential buildings, including a dormitory.
Hundreds of people took shelter in metro stations. The attacks occurred on Sunday, during the annual Kyiv Day celebrations.
In many districts of the capital, drone debris fell, causing damage and fires, and leading to the destruction of a business centre and a dormitory.
In the Kyiv region, three people were killed and ten were injured.
In Mykolaiv, one person was killed and five were injured. A Russian drone hit a five-storey building, leading to the evacuation of two hundred and ten residents.
In Kharkiv, local authorities reported three injured.
"Each such terrorist Russian strike is a sufficient reason for new sanctions against Russia," wrote Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Telegram. "Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day. The world may go on a weekend break, but the war continues, regardless of weekends and weekdays. This cannot be ignored. Silence of America, silence of others around the world only encourage Putin," he added.
Zelensky once again called on the West to tighten sanctions against Russia. He wrote that the world knows all the weaknesses of the Russian economy. "Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped. Sanctions will certainly help". He emphasised that Putin must be forced not to plan more missile attacks, but to end the war.
The video below shows the moment when the Iskander missile struck the city of Chernihiv.
