The number of dead after a Russian rocket attack on a residential building in Uman in central Ukraine has continued to rise. The authorities spoke of 17 deaths, previously the Interior Ministry in Kiev had given the number of 15 residents killed. Accordingly, more bodies had been pulled from the rubble of the partially destroyed house. There were 18 injured, 11 of whom were treated in hospital.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack as “terror against civilians”. He said two unidentified children were among the dead. “The fate of her parents is unclear,” he said. Rescuers searched the rubble for other possible victims. 109 people were registered in the destroyed part of the house, it said. 27 apartments were completely destroyed. Dozens of cars on the road were damaged by debris.
“Everyone will be held accountable”
The European Union describes the rocket attacks on civilian infrastructure as war crimes. Once again, Russia “attacked cowardly civilians while they slept, causing serious damage and killing a number of innocent civilians,” said a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. “Russian attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure constitute war crimes.” The commanders, the perpetrators and the accomplices would not go unpunished. “Everyone will be held accountable.”
President Zelenskyj again demanded more weapons for Ukraine from the West and tougher sanctions against Russia as well as a conviction of the perpetrators. “We can only defeat Russian terror together,” he said.
A Russian missile hit a skyscraper in the city on Friday morning. The city administration has ordered a three-day mourning. At least two people were killed and three injured as a result of rocket attacks in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine has been defending itself from a Russian invasion for more than 14 months.
