what we know about the deadly Russian strike in Chernihiv, which pushes kyiv to denounce the lack of anti-aircraft resources

The provisional toll is at least thirteen dead. After this new bombing, Volodymyr Zelensky pointed out the insufficient support from Ukraine’s allies.

Three explosions, then chaos. At least thirteen people died in Chernihiv (Ukraine) in a strike carried out by the Russian army on Wednesday April 17, which also left around sixty injured. After this new deadly episode, in a town near the border with Belarus, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, criticized the reluctance of his allies to provide air defense equipment. Franceinfo summarizes what we know about this bombing and the reactions.

The human toll is heavy

At least thirteen people were killed, and 61 others were injured, including two children, announced the head of the city’s military administration, Wednesday, after this particularly deadly Russian strike. Among the victims was a 25-year-old woman, a police lieutenant, who was fatally injured by shell fragments, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said.

An eight-story building was destroyed, the Ukrainian presidency said on Telegram, and the strikes also damaged four buildings, a hospital, a higher education establishment and dozens of cars.

Extensive relief operations continue

The toll is likely to rise, “people are probably still trapped under the rubble of the partially destroyed building”, commented the State Emergency Service, which published several photographs in which we can see a team of rescuers at work among the rubble. A little further on, blood stains litter a portion of asphalt.

The Minister of the Interior broadcast the video of the rescue of a man pulled from the remains of a building by a team of rescuers. A total of three people were rescued from under the rubble, according to the State Emergency Service.

A rescue center was deployed to the scene of the attack, carried out near the city center of this regional capital, populated by 300,000 people before the war. Psychologists were dispatched to the site and a blood drive was organized in the region to help the injured.

Zelensky gets annoyed and asks for anti-aircraft means

This new drama aroused the ire of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who seized the opportunity to denounce the running out of Western military aid. “This would not have happened if Ukraine had received enough air defense equipment and if the world’s determination to resist Russian terror had been sufficient”, reacted the manager, quite annoyed. A few days ago, he went to the region to inspect military fortifications.

These comments join those already made on Tuesday, which underlined the contrast with Israel, which had benefited from Western military support to repel an attack from Iran. Volodymyr Zelensky took the total destruction of the Trypillya thermal power station, near kyiv, as an example: “There were eleven missiles flying. We destroyed seven of them. The remaining four destroyed the Trypillya power plant. For what ? Because we had zero rockets. We were running out of rockets to protect Trypillya.”

The city struck on Wednesday, Chernihiv, is about sixty kilometers from the border with Belarus, Russia’s ally. Russia bombards Ukrainian cities daily with explosive missiles and drones, and kyiv has been demanding more anti-aircraft resources for weeks, even months. “This would not happen if we had sufficient air defense to protect our citizens”also commented Serhiy Haidaï, governor of the Luhansk region, while the push of the Russian army in the East is putting a strain on Ukrainian defenses.

The German Defense Ministry announced on Saturday that it would send a Patriot air defense system “additional” to Ukraine – the third – in order to help it protect itself against to “increased Russian airstrikes”. But aid is gradually running out due to political blockages in Washington, forcing Ukrainian soldiers to save their ammunition.