A Russian missile attack on the city of Zaporijia, in southeastern Ukraine, has left at least two people dead, four injured and three missing, local authorities said on Wednesday.
“This morning, between 1:33 and 1:48 a.m.” (from 11:33 p.m. to 11:48 p.m. Tuesday in Lisbon), Russia fired “six rockets at the city of Zaporijia,” the region’s governor Yuri Malachko revealed on Telegram.
A few minutes later, the secretary of the city’s Municipal Council, Anatoly Kourtev, also indicated that Zaporijia had been hit, specifying that “an apartment building had been destroyed by an enemy rocket attack.”
This video, shared by Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs on October 18, shows first responders rescuing a person trapped under rubble in Zaporizhia after a Russian missile strike damaged a five-story building in the city.
Video: Ministry of the Interior / Telegram pic.twitter.com/LVbUrSeah6
– The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) October 18, 2023
In photos released by the Ukrainian press it is possible to see a destroyed building, part of the facade of which is in ruins.
Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is located in this region, in Energodar, about 50 kilometers from the city of Zaporijia, and remains occupied by Russian forces.
This Russian offensive comes after Kiev announced on Tuesday the start of battlefield use against Russia of the US-supplied ATACMS long-range missiles.
⚡️Russia attacks Zaporizhia with rockets, killing 1 person.
One person was killed and at least two were injured when Russia attacked the city of Zaporizhia with rockets overnight on October 18, Governor Yurii Malashko reported via Telegram.
Military administration Zaporizhia pic.twitter.com/YbP9t12Ram
– The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) October 18, 2023
Ukrainian deputy Oleksi Goncharenko said on the social network X (formerly Twitter) that the ATACMS was the weapon Ukraine used to destroy nine Russian helicopters on Monday evening.
The Ukrainian opposition deputy explained that Berdiansk and Lugansk airports were hit by ATACMS, destroying nine Russian helicopters there, as well as several other military equipment.
The military offensive that Russia launched in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 caused the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II (1939-1945), according to the most recent UN data.
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by most of the international community, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and impose political and economic sanctions on Russia.
Zelensky condemned the attack
Ukraine’s president on Wednesday condemned Russia’s “terrorist” attack “on a residential building” in the city of Zaporijia, which local authorities said left at least two dead, four injured and three missing.
The previous report noted one death and two injuries.
“Zaporijia. Rocket attacks by terrorists on the city, on infrastructure, on a residential building, a normal five-storey building,” Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on the messaging platform Telegram.
The Ukrainian head of state added that “eight apartments have been destroyed” and that “there are injuries and deaths” and “possibly people under the rubble.” “Rescue operations continue,” added Zelensky, who offered his condolences to the families and friends of the victims of “Russian terror.”
The Ukrainian president stated that Russia “continues its war tactics against civilians” and thanked “all those who are not indifferent.”
“We will do everything possible to make the terrorist state pay for its responsibility. Russian terrorism must lose,” Zelensky concluded.
Source: DN
