Ukraine war: Fourteen dead in Russian missile strike on Chernihiv
According to Ukrainian authorities, a missile strike launched by Russia has resulted in the deaths of 14 individuals in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.
The attack, which targeted an eight-story building in a densely populated area, also left more than 60 people injured, as stated by Ukraine’s interior minister. Reports indicate that three missiles struck near the city center.
This assault occurred shortly after unconfirmed reports of a Ukrainian airstrike on a Russian military airfield in occupied Crimea. While details remain unverified, footage circulating on local social media suggests a fire at the Dzhankoy airfield in northern Crimea.
In Chernihiv, acting mayor Oleksandr Lomako reported severe damage to one building directly hit by a Russian missile, with multiple floors affected.
The presidential office in Kyiv added that four additional high-rise buildings, a hospital, numerous vehicles, and an educational institution sustained damage.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko disclosed that among the casualties were two children, prompting police to search the rubble for potential additional victims.
Videos captured at the scene depict individuals disembarking from a trolleybus and seeking shelter amidst the chaos. Authorities have issued appeals for blood donations from the public.
Emergency services are continuing to search the rubble for more victims.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian strike would not have happened “if Ukraine had received sufficient air defence equipment”, and he repeated an appeal to Western allies to provide support.
Chernihiv is only 100km (60 miles) from the Russian border.
Parts of the Chernihiv region not far from the city were occupied for several weeks at the start of the 2022 invasion while Russia tried to capture Kyiv to the south.
The city was under siege for more than a month. It was about 70% destroyed and hundreds of civilians were killed, the mayor said.
A theatre in the city was also hit in a missile attack in August 2023 which killed seven people.
In a US TV interview on Monday, the Ukrainian leader also blamed Ukraine’s declining air defences for Russia’s ability to destroy a key thermal power plant supplying Kyiv and other regions last week.
Mr Zelensky said 11 missiles were fired at the Trypillya plant and Ukrainian forces were only able to bring down seven of them. “Four destroyed Trypillya. Why? Because we had zero missiles. We ran out of all missiles,” he told PBS.
Kyiv has been waiting for months for a $60bn (£48bn) US aid package to get through Congress, but it has been held up by Republican objections.
Mr Zelensky said the world had shown unity in assisting non-Nato country Israel when it came under Iranian missile attack, and he has called for the same political will to be shown to Ukraine.
