Ukraine war: Twenty injured after Russian strike on Dnipro
04 June, 2023
Twenty people have been injured - and it is feared that others are trapped - after an alleged Russian strike in Ukraine's central city of Dnipro.
Video shared by President Volodymyr Zelensky showed rescuers searching the remains of a two-storey building.
Another official said five of the victims were children and that a man had been pulled from the rubble.
Explosions have also been heard over the capital, Kyiv, where air defence systems have again been deployed.
All of Ukraine has been placed under air raid alerts. Russia has not commented on the latest events.
Mr Zelensky described the blast in Dnipro as a deliberate Russian attack, although Russia has previously denied targeting civilians during its invasion of the neighbouring country.
Fires broke out following the alleged strike in a northern district of the city, according to the regional governor. Serhiy Lysak added that five children were among the victims - with the condition of three boys assessed as being serious. Seventeen of the 20 people hurt in the incident were taken to hospital, he said. Explosions were reported in other parts of the country.
Air defence systems were engaged early Sunday in repelling air attacks near Kyiv, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital said on the Telegram messaging channel.
Officials in Sumy, in the north, recorded 87 blasts as a result of Russian shelling, speaking of injuries and destruction of infrastructure.
More than a dozen explosions were also reported in the Russian-occupied southern cities of Berdyansk and Melitopol, though details were scant.
In Russia itself, officials said earlier on Saturday that two more people were killed in fresh attacks in the border region of Belgorod.
Local authorities said Ukraine was to blame, although Ukraine itself said the deaths were the result of Russia trying to target fighters who oppose the government in Moscow.
There has been a spate of attacks in the region in recent weeks, notably including a major cross-border incursion late last month which Moscow said ended in the deaths of 70 attackers.
Kyiv denied having any direct involvement, again saying the attack was mounted by Russian paramilitaries.
In other developments, a close aide of President Zelensky has said his country is not yet ready to begin its long-promised counter-offensive against occupying Russian soldiers.
Speaking to the UK's Sunday Times newspaper, Dr Ihor Zhovkva blamed a lack of weaponry and ammunition.
His words appeared at odds with those of Mr Zelensky, who was quoted just a day earlier saying Ukraine was ready to start the manoeuvre.
But inconsistent comments from Ukrainian officials may be a deliberate effort to confuse Moscow, the Sunday Times noted.
Source: www.bbc.com