Seven killed, 90 wounded in Russian missile strike on Ukrainian city of Chernihiv

[August 19, 2023]  KYIV (Reuters) -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. 

Rescuers work at a site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Chernihiv, Ukraine August 19, 2023. National Police/Handout via REUTERS

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 Zelenskiy, 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.

A short video accompanying Zelenskiy's post showed debris scattered across a square in front of the regional drama theatre, where parked cars were heavily damaged. The video also briefly showed a body slouched inside a car.

Chernihiv is a city of leafy boulevards and centuries-old churches about 145 km (90 miles) north of the capital Kyiv. The interior ministry said the roof of the drama theatre had been destroyed in the strike.

Russia has attacked Ukrainian cities far from the front line with missiles and drones as part of the invasion it launched in February last year.

Kyiv's air force said early on Saturday the Ukrainian military had shot down 15 out of 17 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Moscow in an overnight strike.

(Reporting by Dan PeleschukEditing by Toby Chopra and Frances Kerry)

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