At least six people have been killed and more than 30 wounded in a “massive missile attack” by Russia on civilian buildings in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, according to local officials.
A multistorey residential building was among the civilian infrastructure hit in the early morning attack on Tuesday, said Serhiy Lisak, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region where Kryvyi Rih is located.
“A five-storey building got destroyed. According to initial reports, three of its residents died. 25 people were injured,” Lisak said on the Telegram messaging app early on Tuesday morning. “A massive missile attack on Kryvyi Rih,” he said
The city’s mayor, Oleksandr Vilkul, later updated the death toll to six dead after warning earlier that people were likely trapped beneath the rubble of buildings hit in the attack.
“Unfortunately, there are already six dead. The rescue operation continues,” Vilkul said on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered his condolences to the families of those killed in Kryvyi Rih, promising that Russian “terrorists will never be forgiven” and would be “held accountable for every missile they launch”.
“Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded. The rescue operation in Kryvyi Rih continues. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones,” he wrote in a tweet.
Чергові ракети терористів, російські вбивці продовжують свою війну проти житлових будинків, звичайних міст і людей. На жаль, є загиблі, є поранені. Рятувальна операція у Кривому Розі триває. Мої співчуття усім, хто втратив рідних! Ніколи не буде прощення 🇷🇺 терористам, і за кожну… pic.twitter.com/0uxN8wyk8M
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 13, 2023
Kryvyi Rih, which is Zelenskyy’s home town, was hit by a Russian missile in December that killed three people and wounded at least 13.
Video footage shared on social media on Tuesday showed residential apartments damaged, and rubble and fires in other areas.
The capital, Kyiv, also came under missile and drone attacks early on Tuesday morning but air defence systems destroyed all objects heading towards the city, military officials said.
“According to initial reports, the enemy used Kh-101/555 cruise missiles,” Kyiv city military administration said.
“All enemy targets in the airspace around Kyiv were detected and successfully destroyed by the forces and means of air defence,” the administration said, adding there was no immediate information on any casualties or damage.
Ukraine’s top military command said air forces destroyed 10 of 14 cruise missiles Russia launched against Ukraine on Tuesday and one of four Iranian-made drones.
It was not immediately clear how many missiles hit Kryvyi Rih and where the drones struck their targets.
In Kharkiv, civilian infrastructure was hit by a drone, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
“According to initial reports, a utility company in the Kyivskyi district, as well as a warehouse in Saltivskyi district got damaged. A fire broke out as a result of the explosion on the latter,” he said.
The latest wave of air attacks comes as Ukraine claimed to have retaken several villages and made advances in its counteroffensive against Russian forces.
