Russian Ballistic Missiles Strike Ukrainian City, Killing Five and Injuring Dozens
KYIV, Ukraine — The central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih experienced a devastating attack on Monday as Russian ballistic missiles struck an apartment complex and a university building. The blasts resulted in the death of five people and left 64 others wounded as residents were trapped under the rubble, according to Ukrainian officials.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported that one of the missiles destroyed a section of the apartment building between the fourth and ninth floors. Video footage revealed billowing black smoke, damaged cars, and burned-out units on a street lined with trees.
Among the casualties were a 10-year-old girl and her mother, confirmed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who hails from Kryvyi Rih. The rescue operation involved more than 350 people, as stated in a Telegram post by President Zelenskyy.
The university building also suffered significant destruction in the morning attack.
In response, a Ukrainian artillery strike targeted partially occupied Donetsk province, resulting in two deaths and six injuries in the regional capital, according to Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the illegally annexed province. Pushilin also claimed that a bus was hit during multiple shelling incidents by Ukrainian forces in Donetsk city.
Independent verification of the claims made by both sides is not currently available.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has escalated over the past week due to a Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed at driving Russian forces out of occupied areas. Ukraine has also reportedly used drones to strike targets in Moscow and Russian-annexed territory, including Crimea. In fact, a recent drone attack damaged two office buildings near the Kremlin on Sunday.
In response to the attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia has heightened security measures, portraying the assault as an act of desperation. Peskov added that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has not gone as planned due to the inefficiency of the resources provided by NATO countries to Ukraine.
The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, is believed to be banking on waning Western support for Ukraine as the war continues and the cost escalates, according to analysts.
Furthermore, another Ukrainian drone attacked a district police department in Russia’s Bryansk region early Monday, but there were no reported casualties, according to the local governor.
Throughout the war, Moscow has consistently employed a military strategy of bombarding populated areas with missiles, artillery, and drones. Russia claims to only target legitimate military sites, but Ukraine and its supporters argue that previous attacks resulting in mass civilian deaths constitute evidence of war crimes.
Despite the ongoing attacks, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy remains defiant, stating, “But this terror will not frighten us or break us.”
The Ukrainian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, revealed on Monday that Russian forces have intensified their attacks on Ukrainian military facilities. However, it remains unclear which military facilities he was referring to, as recent missile strikes by Russia have targeted civilian infrastructure.
In the southern city of Odesa, recent Russian strikes have focused on port infrastructure and grain silos, damaging Ukraine’s grain export capabilities. The Ukrainian foreign ministry estimates that approximately 180,000 metric tons of grain have been destroyed by Russia in the past nine days.
Russian shelling on Monday also resulted in the deaths of a 70-year-old woman in her home in the Kharkiv province village near Izyum and a civilian in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, according to local authorities.
In Donetsk province in eastern Ukraine, one person was reportedly killed, and seven others were injured due to Russian shelling on 12 cities and villages, according to Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko.
The Ukrainian government has not acknowledged the recent drone attacks in the Moscow region. President Zelenskyy, in his nightly video address, asserted, “Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia — to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process.”
In response to the war in Ukraine and concerns that drones could be repurposed for military use, China has introduced export restrictions on long-range civilian drones. While China maintains neutrality in the conflict, reports suggesting that both sides have used Chinese-made drones for reconnaissance and possible attacks have prompted the regulations.
Meanwhile, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Russian mercenary group Wagner, announced on Monday that the organization is not currently recruiting fighters. Prigozhin explained in an audio message that they have suspended recruitment due to a surplus of personnel. Previously, Prigozhin admitted to losing over 20,000 men in the lengthy battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
In an attempt to exert control over Prigozhin, Russian authorities have mandated that Wagner fighters can only return to Ukraine if they join Russia’s regular army.