CHERNIHIV, Ukraine, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Seven folks together with a 6-year-old little one had been killed and 129 wounded when a Russian missile struck a central sq. in the historic northern Ukrainian metropolis of Chernihiv, the inside ministry mentioned on Saturday.
People had been on their solution to church to have fun a spiritual vacation when the strike came about, the ministry mentioned. Of the 129 counted as wounded in the search and rescue operation, 15 had been youngsters and 15 had been cops, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko mentioned in a Telegram publish.
“A Russian missile hit right in the centre of the city, in our Chernihiv. A square, the polytechnic university, a theatre,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was on a working go to to Sweden, posted on Telegram.
“An ordinary Saturday, which Russia turned into a day of pain and loss,” he added.
A brief video accompanying Zelenskiy’s publish confirmed particles scattered throughout a sq. in entrance of the regional drama theatre, the place parked automobiles had been closely broken. The video additionally briefly confirmed a physique slumped inside a automobile.
Ukrainian media reported {that a} public occasion that includes drone producers had been going down contained in the theatre on the time of the assault. Both sides in Russia’s 18-month-old invasion have broadly used drones on the battlefield.
[1/5]Rescuers stroll subsequent to the drama theatre as they work at a web site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s assault on Ukraine, in Chernihiv, Ukraine August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko Acquire Licensing Rights
In feedback to reporters, Klymenko confirmed solely that an unspecified occasion had been going down in the constructing and that Ukraine’s home safety service was investigating the matter.
Chernihiv is a metropolis of leafy boulevards and centuries-old church buildings about 145 km (90 miles) north of the capital Kyiv.
The roof of the neoclassical theatre was torn off by the strike, which additionally blew out doorways and home windows in neighbouring condo buildings and retailer fronts.
The streets had been stained with blood trails and strewn with scraps from first-aid provides that had been used to deal with the wounded.
Russia has attacked Ukrainian cities removed from the frontline with missiles and drones as a part of the full-scale invasion it launched in February final 12 months.
Kyiv’s air power mentioned early on Saturday the Ukrainian navy had shot down 15 out of 17 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Moscow in an in a single day strike.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry mentioned on Saturday it had destroyed a Ukrainian drone in the Belgorod area and jammed one other close to Moscow. A 3rd struck a navy airfield in the Novgorod area, damaging a warplane, it additionally mentioned.
Additional reporting and writing by Dan Peleschuk in Kyiv and Elaine Monaghan in Washington;
Editing by Toby Chopra, Frances Kerry and Alison Williams
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
