Russian Missile Strike Kills At Least 14 In Northern Ukraine
More than 70 people were killed and injured in the city of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine in a Russian missile strike.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack could have been prevented if Ukraine had been provided with better air defences by its Western allies.
CNN cited Ukraine’s emergency services as saying at least 14 people were killed in the strike and 61 others were injured, including two children. Rescue operations are underway as police search for survivors under the rubble.
Three missiles hit the outskirts of Chernihiv, north of the capital Kyiv, at about 9 AM local time on Wednesday. The strikes caused substantial damage to an eight-story building, a four-story building, a hospital and a higher education institute, according to Ukrainian officials.
Chernihiv police said that among those killed was 25-year-old police lieutenant Alina Mykolayets, who was fatally wounded by shrapnel. She had been at home on sick leave when Russia attacked.
Russia’s strike comes after Zelensky has for months warned that Ukraine lacks the air defences necessary to protect its skies from Russian attacks. He said:
This would not have happened if Ukraine had received a sufficient number of air defence systems and if the world’s determination to counter Russian terror had been sufficient.
The Ukrainian determination is sufficient. There must be equally sufficient determination from our partners and, as a result, sufficient support.
In an interview with PBS NewsHour that aired Monday, Zelensky said Ukraine had “run out of missiles” to repel a Russian airstrike that destroyed the biggest power plant in the Kyiv region last week.
Zelensky on Tuesday signed into law a key piece of legislation overhauling the country’s mobilization rules in a bid to bolster Ukraine’s depleted military.
The law requires all men between 18 and 60 to register with Ukraine’s military and to carry their registration documents on them at all times.
Ukraine has been at war with Russia since February 24, 2022, when the latter launched a series of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities followed by the swift movement of Russian ground troops into Ukrainian territory.
Since then, battles have raged, and the human cost of war has been significant. Ukrainian forces recently withdrew from the eastern town of Avdiivka, marking Russia’s most significant victory since the fall of Bakhmut in May of the previous year.
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