USA TODAY International Edition
Russian attack on dorm at school draws outrage
Drone strike kills at least 7, injures 20 on campus near Kiev
The death toll rose to seven and Ukraine’s president angrily decried Russian military tactics Wednesday after a drone attack decimated a high school and two student dormitories near Kyiv.
At least 20 people were injured in Rzhyshchiv, regional police Chief Andrii Nebytov said. It was not immediately clear whether children were among the victims. The search for survivors was continuing.
The attack was one of several in the region coming hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his self- described mission of peace to Moscow. The Ukrainian military said air defenses downed 16 of 21 drones.
“Over 20 Iranian murderous drones, plus missiles, numerous shelling occasions, and that’s just in one last night of Russian terror against Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media. “Every time someone tries to hear the word ‘ peace’ in Moscow, another order is given there for such criminal strikes.”
Zelenskyy also posted video on social media of what he said was a residential building aflame in Zaporizhzhia after Russia shelled it “with bestial savagery.” Developments:
● The Ukraine military said its forces repelled 114 Russian attacks Tuesday, most in the Donetsk province of the Donbas region that has been the primary focus of the war. The attacks included dozens of air strikes and attempted drone offensives, Ukraine officials said in a Facebook post.
● Russia is treating Ukrainian children like “spoils of war” and allowing Russian parents to adopt them, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan told CNN. The court last week announced arrest warrants accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova- Belova of illegally deporting Ukrainian children to Russia.
● Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged Wednesday to aid Poland’s effort to host refugees from neighboring Ukraine. A day after visiting Kyiv, Kishida met with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw, lauding Poland’s role as “the frontline of military and humanitarian assistance” to Ukraine. More than 1.5 million Ukrainians have registered for protection in Poland, more than three times the number in any other country.
● The International Monetary Fund unveiled a $ 15.6 billion plan to help Ukraine’s battered economy in the short term while supporting post- war reconstruction and easing the country’s path into the EU. The four- year financing plan, subject to formal approval of the fund’s board in coming weeks, also is designed to encourage international donors and partners to invest in Ukraine.