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Ukraine’s Zelenksy says Russia turned an ‘ordinary day’ in the city into ‘pain and loss’
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Ukraine war: Footage appears to show moment drone attack hits building in central Moscow
Ukraine has said that a Russian missile strike in the northern city of Chernihiv has killed seven people and injured 144 others, as five people were injured in a Ukrainian drone in the Russian city of Kursk.
Around 15 children, including a six-year-old girl, and 15 police officers were among the dead following the strike, which hit a central square in the historic city, about 92 miles northeast of the capital, Kyiv, as locals walked to church to celebrate a religious holiday.
Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the news while on a visit to Sweden on Saturday. “An ordinary Saturday, which Russia turned into a day of pain and loss,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging service.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Vladimir Putin’s troops used Iranian-made Shahed drones to attack targets in the country’s central, northern and western regions.
It comes as a Ukrainian drone crashed into the rooftop of a railway station in the Russian city of Kursk, injuring five people and setting off a fire, the TASS news agency said on Sunday, citing regional governor Roman Starovoit.
Seven people including a 6-year-old child were killed and 90 wounded when a Russian missile struck a central square in the historic northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, the interior ministry said on Saturday.
People had been on their way to church to celebrate a religious holiday when the strike took place, the ministry said, adding 12 of the wounded were children and 10 were police officers.
“A Russian missile hit right in the centre of the city, in our Chernihiv.
A square, the polytechnic university, a theatre,” President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was on a working visit to Sweden, posted on Telegram.
“An ordinary Saturday, which Russia turned into a day of pain and loss,” he added.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed revenge for the attack which left seven dead and 144 injured in Chernihiv.
“I am sure our soldiers will give a response to Russia for this terrorist attack,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address, delivered early on Sunday at the end of a visit to Sweden. “A notable response.”
He said that of the 144 people injured, 15 were children, and named the girl killed as Sofia. Fifteen others were police officers, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram. Klymenko said most of the victims were in vehicles, crossing the road, or returning from church.
Regional governor Viacheslav Chaus said 41 people were in hospital on Saturday.
Zelensky said the strike on Chernihiv, a city of leafy boulevards and centuries-old churches about 145 km (90 miles) north of Kyiv, coincided with the Orthodox holiday of the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
Russian air defences jammed a Ukrainian drone flying towards Moscow early on Sunday and it crashed, the defence ministry said.
There were no casualties, the defence ministry said.
A Ukrainian drone crashed into the rooftop of a railway station in the Russian city of Kursk, injuring five people and setting off a fire, the TASS news agency said on Sunday, citing regional governor Roman Starovoit.
Ukraine is already stockpiling fuel ahead of another challenging winter under siege from Russia, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.
The ministry said in its intelligence report that “despite the consistent pressures of war, Ukrainian efforts to build up fuel stockpiles will likely be successful in ensuring that it will have sufficient fuel reserves during the approaching winter period.”
It also noted that “Ukraine has been effective in mobilising its mining sector to maintain output, ensuring a continuous supply of coal is available for thermal power and heating plants in the winter, with substantial gas stocks providing a further reserve”.
Ukraine prepares fuel reserves for upcoming winter amid ongoing Russian seige, UK MoD says
The UN condemned Russia for carrying out the “heinous” missile strike in the historic northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.
“It is heinous to attack the main square of a large city, in the morning, while people are out walking, some going to the church to celebrate a religious day for many Ukrainians,” said Denise Brown, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine.
“I condemn this repeated pattern of Russian strikes on populated areas of Ukraine, causing deaths, massive destruction and soaring humanitarian needs.
“Attacks directed against civilians or civilian objects are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law. It must stop.”
Training had begun for Ukrainians to operate US F16 fighter jets but it would take at least six months and possibly longer, defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov, two days after a US official said F16s would be transferred to Ukraine once its pilots were trained.
Mr Reznikov said in a TV interview that six months of training was considered the minimum for pilots, but it was not yet known how long it would take to train engineers and mechanics.
Ukraine wants sophisticated US-made warplanes so it can counter the air superiority of Russia, whose forces invaded the country in February 2022.
“Therefore, to build reasonable expectations, set a minimum of six months in your mind, but do not be disappointed if it is longer,” he told Kanal 24 anchor Andriana Kucher, who shared the interview on her YouTube channel.
A US official said on Thursday that Washington had approved sending F16s to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands to defend against Russia as soon as pilot training was completed.
Mr Reznikov said he would not give details on where and when the training was taking place.
The number of people injured from Russia’s missile strike in the historic northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv has risen to 144.
Seven people including a 6-year-old girl and 15 children were left dead in the missile strike that tore into the roof of theatres and buildings, sparked a fire and damaged infrastructure.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that of the 144 people injured, 15 were children, and named the girl killed as Sofia.
Fifteen others were police officers, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram. He said most of the victims were in vehicles, crossing the road, or returning from church.
The deadly strike coincided with the Orthodox holiday of the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
A Ukrainian drone crashed into the rooftop of a railway station in Kursk, the central Russian city.
Five people were injured and the attack set off a fire at the railway station, Kursk region governor Roman Starovoit said, according to Tass.
“Ukrainian drone attack in Kursk. According to preliminary information, it crashed into the roof of the railway station building, setting off a fire on the rooftop. Five people were slightly injured by shards of glass,” he said on Telegram.
The city is located 150kms from the border with Ukraine.
The number of troops killed or wounded in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion is approaching 500,000, according to US officials, in an estimate not accounting for civilian deaths.
Russia’s military casualties are approaching 300,000, including up to 120,000 deaths, while Ukraine has lost 70,000 troops, with between 100,000 and 120,000 injured, according to Washington officials quoted by the New York Times.
In addition, Ukraine has suffered at least 26,384 civilian casualties since the beginning of the invasion on 24 February, 2022.
This is according to the latest estimates from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and includes 9,444 killed and 16,940 injured.
Read the full report below.
Russia’s military casualties are approaching 300,000, compared to Ukraine’s 170,000
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