5 kids among 28 killed in Russian strikes

PRYLUKY (Ukraine): R ussian attacks across Ukraine killed at least 28 people on Wednesday, including five children who died when a missile struck an apartment block in the northern city of Pryluky while residents slept.

The strike in Chernihiv region shattered windows and reduced about half of the five-storey building to charred concrete and twisted metal. Ukrainian authorities said 20 people were killed in Pryluky, while seven other children were among dozens wounded.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said three of the children killed were just one year old and another was eight. A fifth child’s body was recovered from the rubble later in the evening.

Residents said the missile struck at about 6.30am, with many sheltering in bathrooms as apartments were damaged.

“We were at home, sleeping,” said Olena Sayun, 40, a massage therapist. She said she and her husband covered their child with their bodies as windows blew out.

Zelensky condemned the attacks as deliberate strikes on civilians and called for stronger air defences, saying ballistic missiles remained Ukraine’s biggest challenge.

Russia launched at least 50 missiles and 130 drones overnight against several regions, including Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Poltava, according to Ukraine’s air force. It said five ballistic missiles, 39 cruise missiles and more than 100 drones were intercepted.

Two people were killed when a missile hit a high-rise building in Kremenchuk, while two others died in Oleksandriya, Zelensky said. In Kyiv, four people were killed in separate strikes, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

The capital also suffered power and water cuts, while air raid sirens sounded repeatedly. Residents sought shelter in underground metro stations as concerns grew over intensified Russian attacks ahead of winter.

Ukraine has struggled to intercept newer jet-powered drones and ballistic missiles.

Meanwhile, Russian-installed officials said four people, including a teenage girl, were killed in Ukrainian drone strikes in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.

Zelensky said Ukraine had also carried out strikes on Russian oil facilities and a military training ground, describing them as responses to Russia’s attacks. – AFP