At least seven people were killed, including a six-year-old girl and nearly 130 others were injured after a Russian missile strike hit a central square in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, according to Ukrainian officials.
Saturday’s attack (19) – in a town close to the border with Russia and far from the front line – hit a university and a theater, where an event involving drone manufacturers was taking place.
The dead girl died of her injuries in hospital, Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko said.
“Her mother is in serious condition. The police provided first aid to the girl. Unfortunately, the doctors were unable to save her upon arrival at the hospital due to massive blood loss,” she added.
See also: Russian missiles attack cities far from the front line
Klymenko said the attack took place as people were leaving the church with “baskets of blessed apples”. Saturday is an important holiday in the Orthodox calendar: for the Feast of the Transfiguration, apples and honey are consecrated in churches.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack turned “an ordinary Saturday … into a day of pain and loss”.
“A Russian missile hit right in the center of the city, in our Chernihiv. A square, the polytechnic university, a theater.”
Oleksandr Lomako, acting mayor of the city of Chernihiv, told national TV: “There is a park right behind the theater, many children and their parents often spend their time there. There are several restaurants with outdoor terraces located nearby. It all happened in the middle of the day when obviously there are a lot of people in the city centre.”
“This crime cannot be construed as anything other than a war crime against civilians.”
Klymenko is calling for an investigation into a drone event that was underway in the theater during the attack. Drones were used by both sides during the conflict.
A co-organizer of the event, Maria Berlinska, said that the event was officially approved by the local civil-military administration and that the venue was provided by the authorities. The location was only disclosed hours before the event for security reasons.
Berlinska described it as “a closed meeting of engineers, military and volunteers in military technology for the front line”.
Before the start of the war, Chernihiv was a vibrant city of 300,000 people. Now, many parts have turned into wasteland amid repeated Russian bombing.
The city was besieged by Russian forces at the start of the invasion in March 2022 and was deprived of electricity and running water. Russian troops began withdrawing from the region later that month, although the bombing of Chernihiv continued.
After the siege, the mayor of the city described Chernihiv as around 70% destroyed.
Putin meets generals
The attack comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin visited generals overseeing the Ukrainian offensive in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia on Saturday, according to the Kremlin.
Putin spoke with the “Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, sector commanders and other senior officers of the group”, according to the Kremlin.
Rostov-on-Don, which is close to the Ukrainian border, was a focal point of the short-lived Wagner Group rebellion in June.
Meanwhile, Zelensky is in Sweden, where he is meeting Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia
and other parliamentary officials.
At a joint press conference between Zelensky and Kristersson on Saturday afternoon, the Ukrainian leader said they were discussing “next steps” for Ukraine to obtain Gripen fighter jets from Sweden.
“Today we discuss Gripen aircraft, the pride of Sweden. I am confident that the Gripen aircraft can make our freedom much safer,” Zelensky told reporters.
Source: CNN Brasil
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