37 dead as Russia steps up onslaught against Ukraine
KYIV: Russian forces shelled the southern Ukrainian city of Nikopol on Saturday, the latest in a series of bombardments of urban areas that has killed at least 37 people in the last three days and wounded scores.
Ukrainian emergency services said two people were wounded and another two were trapped under rubble in Nikopol, which is on the Dnipro River.
Late on Friday, Russian missiles hit the city of Dnipro, about 120km north of Nikopol, killing three people and wounding 15, regional governor Valentyn Reznychenko said on Telegram.
Rockets hit an industrial plant and a street next to it, he said. Footage on social media showed thick black smoke rising from the buildings and burning cars.
A Russian strike hit the northeast Ukrainian town of Chuhuiv in Kharkiv region overnight, killing three people including a woman of 70, and wounding three more, the regional governor said.
The strike damaged a residential block, a school and a shop, and rescuers were going through the rubble, governor Oleh Synehubov said on Telegram.
The attacks were the latest in a series of Russian hits in recent weeks using long-range missiles on crowded buildings in cities.
Eight people were killed and 13 injured in a string of shellings in 10 locations in the eastern region of Donetsk, governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a television interview on Friday.
On Thursday, Kalibr cruise missiles launched from a Russian submarine in the Black Sea hit an office building in Vinnytsia, a city of 370,000 people about 200km southwest of Kyiv.
Kyiv said the strike killed at least 23 people and wounded dozens.
In Vinnytsia, residents placed teddy bears and flowers at a makeshift memorial to those killed. Among the dead was Liza, a 4- year- old girl with Down’s Syndrome, found in the debris next to a pram. Images of her pushing the same pram, posted by her mother on a blog less than two hours before the attack, quickly went viral.
Pact to lift blockade on export of grains in works
Despite the bloodshed, both sides have described progress towards an agreement to lift a blockade restricting the export of Ukrainian grain. Mediator Turkey has said a deal could be signed next week.
Asked if that timeline was realistic, a senior Ukrainian official told Reuters: “We really hope so. We’re hurrying as fast as we can.” The official asked not to be identified.
Russia’s defence ministry said an agreement was close, but Moscow’s negotiator cautioned that a grains deal would not lead to a resumption of peace talks.
A deal would probably involve inspections of vessels to ensure Ukraine was not bringing in arms and guarantees from Western countries that Russia’s own food exports are exempt from sanctions.