Russian missile attack kills 10 in Ukrainian president's hometown

[June 13, 2023]  By Max Hunder
 
KRYVYI RIH, Ukraine (Reuters) -At least 10 people were killed in a Russian missile attack that hit an apartment building and a warehouse in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih on Tuesday, local officials said.  

A rescuer works at the site of a residential building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine June 13, 2023. REUTERS/Andrii Dubchak

Regional governor Serhiy Lysak said four were killed in the apartment block and six in the warehouse. Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said one person was still trapped under rubble and 28 had been injured, with 12 of them being treated in hospital.

Residents sobbed outside the burnt-out apartment block, from which smoke billowed after the early-morning attack on the central Ukrainian city.

Olha Chernousova, who lives in the five-storey apartment block, said she was woken by an explosion which sounded like thunder and thrown out of her bed by a violent blast wave.

"I ran to my front door, but it was very hot there... the smoke was heavy," she said.

"What could I do? I was sat on the balcony, terrified I would lose consciousness. Nobody came for a long time... I thought I would have to jump into a tree."

Around her, the street and courtyard were strewn with glass and bricks. At least five cars were ruined husks.

Ihor Lavrenenko, who lives in a different part of the building, said he heard two blasts.

"I woke up from the first bang, a weak one, and went straightaway onto the balcony. Then the second one erupted overhead, I watched from my balcony as hot debris fell," he said.

Zelenskiy, who was born in Kryvyi Rih, condemned the attack in a Telegram post, saying: "Russian killers continue their war against residential buildings, ordinary cities and people."

Russia did not immediately comment on the attack. It has repeatedly struck cities across Ukraine since its full-scale invasion in February 2022 though it denies targeting civilians.

Moscow has also accused Ukraine of cross-border shelling as Kyiv carries out counter-offensive operations.

Ukraine's military command said air defences had destroyed 10 out of 14 cruise missiles, and one of four Iranian-made drones, fired at Ukraine overnight.

(Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly, Anna Pruchnicka and Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Timothy Heritage)

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