At least 25 people have died after a Russian missile attack hit a nine-story apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said, in one of the largest casualties of civilians far from the frontlines since the war began.
According to videos posted by Ukrainian emergency services at the scene of the strike, rescue workers were still digging through the rubble of the building on Sunday, and at least one woman was pulled safely from the rubble.
The house was struck late Saturday afternoon as Russia fired dozens of rockets at cities across Ukraine in two waves of attacks coinciding with the Orthodox New Year, shaking the relative calm of the past few days.
Ukraine’s State Ambulance Service said in an afternoon update Sunday that at least 25 people, including a child, were killed in the attack.
At least 73 people were injured and at least 37 people are still missing, officials said. According to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, at least 400 people lived in the large apartment building and the immediate area, and 72 apartments were destroyed in the attack.
The attack on the apartment building is one in a series of devastating large-scale attacks on residential areas in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February. Attacks on targets such as train stations, shopping malls and residential areas have resulted in significant civilian casualties, while shelling of towns and cities close to the frontline has also resulted in rising civilian deaths.
It is a war crime under international law to intentionally or recklessly attack civilian populations and places where civilians might congregate.
In a picture from the scene of Saturday’s attack, a young woman was photographed clutching a stuffed animal and a gold Christmas garland as she stood in the ruins of the building, waiting to be rescued.
in one post Office on a verified account on Instagram, the photo-sharing app, the woman, who gave her name as Anastasiia Shvets, said her parents were still missing. She described how she escaped unharmed except for a minor head wound and bruises on her legs.
“I have no words, I have no emotions, I feel nothing but a great emptiness inside,” she wrote, sharing pictures from her hospital bed. According to Ms Shvets’ social media accounts, her partner served in the Ukrainian military and was killed in action four months ago.
The missile that hit the building was a Kh-22 cruise missile, also known as the X-22 missile, according to Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister. Five of those rockets were fired into Ukrainian territory on Saturday, with one hitting the building in Dnipro.
Immediately after the attack on the apartment building, pro-Russian news outlets and influential military bloggers argued that the apartment buildings were hit by fragments of the missile after Ukrainian air defenses tried to intercept them.
But Ukrainian forces were quick to deny this, and evidence from the scene pointed to a direct attack on the building.
“Ukraine’s armed forces have no weapons capable of launching these types of missiles,” Ms Maliar said, adding that more than 210 missiles of this type have been used in attacks on Ukrainian territory since Russia invaded in February.
The same type of rockets were used on a Shopping center in Kremenchuk in Junekill 18 people.
The Soviet-era missiles weigh about 2,000 pounds, can be fired from long ranges, and are intended for anti-ship operations. They are also capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Ms Maliar said the attack showed the need for anti-aircraft missile systems such as the Patriot system – which Ukraine has long lobbied allies for.
Late last month, President Biden said the United States would supply Ukraine with the Patriot missile system and that the Ukrainian armed forces would do so Begin training on the Oklahoma system in the coming weeks.
Oleksandra Mykolyshyn contributed reporting.
