Russian missile and drone attack in Ukraine kills 16 people
CTV
Russia fired more than 20 cruise missiles and two drones at Ukraine early Friday, killing at least 16 people, most of them when two missiles slammed into an apartment building in the center of the country, officials said. Three children were among the dead.
Russia fired more than 20 cruise missiles and two drones at Ukraine early Friday, killing at least 16 people, most of them when two missiles slammed into an apartment building in the center of the country, officials said. Three children were among the dead.
The missile attacks included the first one against Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, in nearly two months, although there were no reports of any targets hit. The city government said Ukraine's air force intercepted 11 cruise missiles and two unmanned aerial vehicles over Kyiv.
The strikes on the nine-storey residential building in central Ukraine occurred in Uman, a city located around 215 kikilometres (134 miles) south of Kyiv. Fourteen people died in that attack, according to the interior ministry, including two 10-year-old children and a toddler.
Another of the victims was a 75-year-old woman who lived in a neighbouring building and suffered internal bleeding from the huge blast's shock wave, according to emergency personnel at the scene.
The Ukrainian national police said 17 people were wounded and three children were rescued from the rubble. Nine were hospitalized.
The bombardment was nowhere near the war's sprawling front lines or active combat zones in eastern Ukraine, where a grinding war of attrition has taken hold. Moscow has frequently launched long-range missile attacks during the 14-month war, often indiscriminately hitting civilian areas.
Ukrainian officials and analysts have alleged the strikes are part of a deliberate intimidation strategy by the Kremlin. Russia has denied its military aims at civilian targets.
