The death toll from a Russian missile strike on a residential tower in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro stands at 25 on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported as rescue workers scrambled to pull the survivors from the rubble.
Emergency crews worked through the freezing night in the multi-storey residential building.
The attacks, which also targeted the capital, Kyiv, and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, ended a two-week lull in airstrikes Russia has launched against power infrastructure and urban centers across the country. Ukraine almost every week since October.
Russia fired 33 cruise missiles on Saturday, 21 of which were shot down, according to General Valery Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces. The missile that hit the building was a Kh-22 launched from Russia’s Kursk region, according to the air force command, adding that Ukraine does not have a system capable of intercepting this type of weapon.
In Dnipro, workers used a crane to rescue people trapped on the upper floors of the tower where around 1,700 people lived. Some residents asked for help to switch on their mobile phones.
Mr Zelensky reported that at least 73 people were injured and 39 people were rescued on Sunday afternoon. The City of Dnipro declared 43 people missing.
“Search and rescue operations and the dismantling of dangerous structural elements continue day and night. We continue to fight for every life,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Ivan Garnuk was in his apartment when the building was hit and said he felt lucky to have survived. He described his shock that the Russians hit a residential building with no strategic value.
“There are no military installations here. There is nothing here, he said. There is no air defense, there are no military bases here. She hit civilians, innocent people. »
Residents of Dnipro joined rescue workers on site to help clear the rubble. Others brought food and warm clothes for those who had lost their homes.
“It’s clearly terrorism and it’s all just not humane,” said one citizen, Artem Myzychenko, as he cleared the rubble.
Claiming responsibility for missile strikes across Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday it achieved its goal.
“All designated targets have been hit. The objective of the attack has been achieved,” the ministry said on Telegram. He said missiles were fired “at Ukraine’s military command and control system and related energy facilities”, not mentioning the attack on the residential building in Dnipro.
On Sunday, Russian forces attacked a residential area in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. Yaroslav Yanushevych said in a message on Telegram. According to preliminary information, two people were injured.
Russia’s renewed airstrikes came as fierce fighting raged in Ukraine’s Donetsk province, where the Russian military claimed to have control of the small salt-mining town of Soledar, but the Ukraine says its troops are still fighting there.
If the Russian forces gain full control of Soledar, it would allow them to approach a larger city, that of Bakhmut. The Battle of Bakhmut has been raging for months, claiming heavy casualties on both sides.
As the war has dragged on for nearly 11 months, the UK has announced it will deliver tanks to Ukraine, its first donation of such heavy weapons. Although the commitment of 14 Challenger 2 tanks seems modest, Ukrainian officials expect it will encourage other Western countries to contribute more tanks.
The UK Defense Secretary plans to visit Estonia and Germany this week to work with NATO allies, and the Foreign Secretary is due to visit the US and Canada to discuss a closer coordination.