- Three Russian missile struck the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia on Thursday.
- Ukrainian President: “What is this, if not an open act of terrorism?”.
- Ukraine’s foreign minister accuses Russia of committing “another war crime”; Russia denies that its forces in Ukraine have committed war crimes.
KYIV: Twelve people, including a young boy, were killed and others were injured when three Russian missile struck the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia on Thursday, as per police.
The national police reported that an office building had been struck, along with adjoining residential structures and a medical institution. According to the authorities, 90 people sought medical assistance, and approximately 50 of them were in critical condition.
In the video, you can see emergency workers rushing to the scene as black smoke pours out of a tall building and sirens sound.
State Emergency Service photos show grey smoke rising from burnt-out cars and wreckage. One depicted a discarded, flipped stroller.
“There are wounded and dead, among them a small child,” the Ukrainian president posted on the messaging service Telegram. “What is this, if not an open act of terrorism?”
The Russian defence ministry did not immediately comment on the Vinnytsia reports. Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, has denied intentionally striking civilians.
Vinnytsia is about 200 kilometres southwest of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is also far from the main battle lines in the east and south.
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The missile struck the parking lot of the nine-story “Yuvelirniy” office building at approximately 10:50 a.m. (0750 GMT), according to the State Emergency Service.
“Unfortunately, there is probably no chance of finding anyone who survived (under the rubble),” a senior regional emergency service official told Ukrainian television.
In a tweet, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of committing “another war crime.”
He wrote, “We will put Russian war criminals on trial for every drop of Ukrainian blood and tear.”
Russia denies that its forces in Ukraine have committed war crimes. According to the Kremlin, it is conducting a “special military operation” to demilitarise Ukraine and weed out what it considers to be dangerous nationalists.
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