Russian missile strikes kill at least 17, Ukraine says
61 are reported injured in attack north of Kyiv
KYIV, Ukraine — At least 17 people were killed and scores more injured when three Russian missiles struck a busy downtown district of Chernihiv, north of Kyiv, Ukraine, just before noon Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the death toll, reported by the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general, might rise and blamed Ukraine’s lack of air defenses for the loss of life. The prosecutor general said 61 people had been reported injured.
“This would not have happened if Ukraine had received enough air defense equipment and if the world’s determination to counter Russian terror was also sufficient,” Zelensky said in a statement. “Terrorists can destroy lives only when they first manage to intimidate those who are able to stop terror and protect life.”
Also on Wednesday, explosions and fires were reported at a key Russian air base in the occupied Crimean Peninsula in what appeared to be a Ukrainian attack. Ukrainian officials did not comment on the apparent attack, but Russian military bloggers affiliated with the Kremlin reported that Ukrainian missiles had struck locations around the air base in Dzhankoi, Crimea.
The New York Times verified two videos circulating on social media from Dzhankoi. The first clip showed a large fire and explosions in the area of the base, while another clip filmed nearby also captured the scene. NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System also detected several hot spots at the base, an indication that fires were blazing.
Dzhankoi is a hub for Russian roads and railways about 50 miles south of the Ukrainian mainland. It has been a frequent target of long-range strikes by the Ukrainian military, part of a broader campaign to isolate Russian troops fighting in southern Ukraine and undermine Russian logistics.
With US military assistance largely suspended since the start of the year as some Republicans in Congress resist providing Ukraine with more support, the Western-supplied air defense systems needed to shoot down near-daily Russian missile bombardments are nearly out of ammunition.
That has increased the urgency of Ukraine’s efforts to target Russian weapons at their source in both occupied parts of Ukraine and inside Russia itself.
Delays in US support have led to recent losses along the front and Zelensky told PBS in an interview broadcast Tuesday that his nation’s forces were struggling.
“I can tell you, frankly, without this support, we will have no chance of winning,” he said.
At the same time, the toll on civilians is growing and Ukrainian officials said that what happened in Chernihiv on Wednesday was likely only a prelude to further bloodshed.
The district where the missiles struck is a crowded part of the city near a university and hospital.
Rescue workers were still searching for victims in the rubble, he said. “This strike is just one more confirmation that Ukraine urgently needs air defense systems and ammunition,” he added.