2023-08-19 15:45:00
After the attack, 90 wounded requested medical assistance. Photo: AFP.
A Russian bombardment against a central square in the city of Chernigov, in northern Ukraine, left at least seven dead and 90 injured this Saturdayreported the Ukrainian government.
The attack killed at least seven people and “90 wounded requested medical assistance,” explained Interior Minister Igor Klimenko, who specified that “25 people were hospitalized.”
Chernigov, which is located about 150 kilometers to the north from the capital, kyiv, is a town near the border with Belarus, a country allied to the Kremlin.
The Russian army invaded this town at the start of the war 18 months ago, but withdrew a few weeks later when it concentrated its operations in the east and south of the country.
Chernigov, which is located about 150 kilometers north of the capital kyiv, is a town close to the border with Belarus
“A Russian missile hit the heart of Chernigov. A square, a university and a theater. Russia turned any given Saturday into a day of pain and loss,” Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky said on his X social network account, formerly known as Twitter.
“I urge the world to stand up to Russian terror. Provide Ukraine with additional tools to safeguard life. For Russia to win life, Russia must lose this war,” he added.
The president traveled this Saturday to Sweden to hold talks with government leaders and the royal family seeking further military assistance.
“We have a wide agenda of issues to address, but Defense cooperation is one of the priorities, including the precious CV-90s,” wrote the Ukrainian leader, referring to these Swedish-made armored vehicles.
This visit came at a time when Sweden is about to join NATO, like its neighbor Finland.
Shortly after the start of the invasion in February 2022, the Scandinavian country abandoned its doctrine of not supplying weapons to countries at war, and provided kyiv with thousands of anti-tank weapons.
Last month, Turkey ended its opposition to Sweden’s joining the Atlantic Alliance, giving the green light to Stockholm’s membership aspirations.
The Russian army invaded Chernigov at the start of the war 18 months ago, but withdrew a few weeks later to concentrate its operations in the east and south of the country.
Putin was close to the Ukrainian border
Meanwhile, Russia believes that Sweden’s entry into NATO will have “negative consequences” for its security, so it said it will take “planned and anticipated” measures in response, the AFP news agency reported.
On the other hand, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin met with commanders of his army in Rostov-on-Donnear the border with Ukraine, the Kremlin said.
The Russian presidency did not specify when that meeting took place, although images released by state media suggest that it took place on Friday night.
The local RIA Novosti news agency published a video of the Russian president, dressed in a suit, getting out of a jeep in the dark and greeted by the chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, in military attire, with a handshake.
Rostov-on-Don, the operational center of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, was the scene of a rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group at the end of June, which briefly took over the headquarters of that town.
Since then, General Gerasimov, much criticized by Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner’s boss, had hardly been seen in public.
#dead #wounded #Russian #bombardment #Chernigov #northern #Ukraine