War in Ukraine: an air attack injures 20 in a district of Dnipro

An air attack in Dnipro in central Ukraine left 20 injured on Saturday evening, including three children with very serious injuries, the Ukrainian authorities announced. President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Russians of having “attacked the city” located in the center of the country. Russian airstrikes over Ukraine have intensified in recent weeks, as have incursions in the opposite direction.

For months, Kiev has claimed to be preparing for a major offensive against the occupying forces of Moscow, with the aim of reconquering territories lost since the Russian invasion in February 2022. Saturday’s strike hit two buildings in a neighborhood houses in Dnipro, said the president. “The Russians have attacked the city,” Voldoymyr Zelensky posted on Facebook on Saturday. “They hit between two two-storey residential buildings. Unfortunately, there are people under the rubble.”

A video posted by Voldoymyr Zelensky shows rescuers searching the destroyed building, to the sound of industrial drills. “Five children were injured by the enemy in the community of Pidhorodnenska,” said Serhiy Lysak, governor of the Dnipro region. “Doctors believe that the condition of three boys is serious. They are in the operating room.” “The total number of injured has risen to 20. Among them, 17 are hospitalized,” he added, stressing that rescuers continue to search for victims under the rubble.

Across the border, Ukrainian shellfire killed two people on Saturday in Belgorod, Russia, the local governor said. Border villages in this region have been hit by unprecedented artillery fire in recent days, and the latest deaths bring the overall toll to seven this week.