At least seven people were killed and 90 wounded when a Russian missile struck a theatre and a central square in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, the interior ministry has said.
A six-year-old child was among the dead, with their mother left seriously injured. A further 11 children were wounded, according to the ministry. Among others injured, 10 were police officers. In total, 25 people were hospitalised.
People had been on their way to church to celebrate a religious holiday when a missile hit the city’s landmark Drama Theatre, the ministry said.
“A Russian missile hit right in the centre of the city, in our Chernihiv. A square, the polytechnic university, a theatre,” Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was on a working visit to Sweden, posted on Telegram.
A brief film of a woman in a summer dress posing for the camera appeared to show the moment of the strike in the background, with a missile striking the roof of the theatre and a fire trail travelling beyond towards the ground.
Another video accompanying the Ukrainian president’s post showed debris scattered across a square in front of the regional theatre, where parked cars were heavily damaged.
Photograph: State Emergency Service Of Ukraine Handout/EPA
One body could also be briefly seen in the video slouched inside a car. Another photograph showed a body on the ground next to a puddle of blood as images of the incident circulated on social media.
“Let’s do even more to consolidate the world against Russian terror. Let’s give even more to our state to protect life. Russia must lose this war for life to win,” the president added.
The roof of the theatre collapsed subsequently, the interior ministry said, after a fire which was extinguished by the emergency services.
Chernihiv is a historic city known for its medieval churches and its centre has no obvious military significance. The Russian border is about 50 miles to the north-east, but the front in the east of Ukraine is more than 300 miles away.
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Russia has previously attacked Ukrainian cities far from the frontline with missiles and drones as part of its full-scale invasion launched in February 2022. A deliberate or reckless strike on civilian areas or buildings is considered to be a war crime by the international community.
Zelenskiy was in Sweden on Saturday, his first visit since the invasion, and will meet officials as well as King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.
Sweden abandoned its longstanding policy of military nonalignment to support Ukraine with weapons and other aid in the war against Russia. It also applied for Nato membership but is still waiting to join.
2023-08-19 06:31:26
Link from www.theguardian.com
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