At least 40 people died in a Russian airstrike on an apartment building in the city of Dnipro over the weekend, Ukrainian officials said Monday, as rescue workers raced to save dozens still trapped beneath the wreckage and Kyiv vowed revenge for yet another Russian attack on civilians.
The number of Ukrainian civilian deaths from the attack is believed to be the most in a single incident since Sept. 30.
The Russian Defense Ministry cast the missile barrage Saturday as an effort to take out Ukrainian military command-and-control targets, but at least one missile apparently struck an apartment complex in Dnipro, which was home to about 1,700 civilians. At least 40 people, including at least one child, have been confirmed dead, Ukrainian officials said.
Inside Ukraine, the anger and sorrow were palpable.
“Rescuers are working. Burn in hell, Russian murderers,” Mykola Lukashuk, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council, wrote in a post on his Telegram channel.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised that the Russian troops involved in planning and carrying out the strike will be held accountable.
“We’re fighting for every person, every life,” Mr. Zelenskyy tweeted. “We’ll find everyone involved in terror. Everyone will bear responsibility. Utmost.”
At least 75 people were injured in the strike, including 14 children. Nearly 40 people have been saved from the rubble so far.
Civilians in the area said there was no reason for the attack.
“There are no military facilities here. There is nothing here,” Ivan Garnuk, a resident, told The Associated Press. “There is no air defense, there are no military bases here. It just hit civilians, innocent people.”
Ukrainian officials said that Russian forces fired 33 cruise missiles on Saturday alone. Twenty-one of them were shot down, Ukrainian officials said.
The missile that struck the Dnipro apartment building was a Russian Kh-22 missile, according to media reports. Ukrainian military officials said they do not have a defense system capable of intercepting those missiles.
Russian officials said in a statement that “all designated targets have been hit” inside Ukraine, although the statement did not mention the Dnipro apartment building.
Throughout the nearly 11-month conflict, Ukraine has accused Russia of indiscriminately targeting civilians, though the Kremlin has denied those charges.
The weekend missile strikes come amid intense fighting on the ground in and around the strategically vital town of Soledar. Russia claimed to have taken control of the town late last week, but Ukrainian officials say their troops are still there fighting.
In an interview with Russia’s Rossiya-1 TV channel that aired Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country’s “special military operation” in Ukraine is going as planned.
While occasionally acknowledging some setbacks, Mr. Putin has routinely downplayed the major defeats and significant casualties his army has suffered in Ukraine.
“The dynamics are positive. Everything is developing within the plan of the defense ministry and the general staff. And I hope that our fighters will please us more than once again with the results of their combat work,” he said, according to Russia’s state-run TASS News Agency.
Meanwhile, Britain announced over the weekend it would deliver 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. The announcement comes on the heels of the U.S. recently sending Patriot missile defense systems and Bradley fighting vehicles to Kyiv.
The announcements from London and Washington represent a significant hike in Western military aid to Ukraine.
“Sending Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine is the start of a gear change in the U.K.’s support,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office said in a statement late Saturday. “A squadron of 14 tanks will go into the country in the coming weeks after the prime minister told President Zelenskyy that the U.K. would provide additional support to aid Ukraine’s land war.”
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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