Punished for resisting
Russia launched another attack against Ukrainian civilians on Saturday. A missile attack in Dnipro, fomerly thought a safe haven from the violence, brought down an apartment complex, killing dozens, injuring more, and trapping an unknown number in the rubble. A child is among the dead (Washington Post):
Russia’s blatant attack on civilians here — the worst to strike this city since Russia invaded Ukraine last February — came just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed his most senior military officer, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, as the new overseer of his relentless war in Ukraine.
The strike, which coincided with the Orthodox New Year, served as a grim message that Putin’s close confidant is likely to continue the violent missile strikes on civilian targets that have become a hallmark of Russia’s assault. The bombing, one of a wave of attacks Saturday across Ukraine, may have destroyed as many as 30 apartments in the sprawling complex, said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who shared a video of the destruction.
Residents were trapped as flames engulfed part of the structure, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office, said on Telegram.
At least 12 people died in the apartment building Saturday, and at least 73 others were wounded, according to Ukraine’s top military commander. At nightfall, at least 38 people had been rescued, he said. Many more are believed to be buried in the ruins. As the city neared its midnight curfew, dogs wearing specialized shoes to protect them from injuries were scaling the mound of debris, sniffing for survivors. Off to the side, the dead lay on the ground in white bags, red and white tape wrapped around them.
The missile was so powerful that it sent a shock wave across the city. It took rescuers hours to free Lyuba, a woman trapped under debris on the eighth floor.
One of the Ukrainian Red Cross medics who helped carry her to safety said she believed both her legs were broken. Her face was covered in blood.
When asked what message she would want to send the world after this attack, the medic, who identified herself only as Natalya, 36, didn’t hesitate.
“Stop Russia,” she said.
CNN:
Elsewhere, missiles and explosions were heard everywhere from Lviv in the west; Kharkiv in the northeast; Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro in the southeast; Myokaliv in the south; and Kharkiv in the northeast, officials said.
The Ukrainian Air Force Command issued a statement on the attack:
The Command noted that on January 14, 2023, out of five Tu-22m3 long-range bombers of the Russian Air Force, five Kh-22 cruise missiles were fired at the territory of Ukraine. Launches were carried out from the Kursk Region and from the waters of the Sea of Azov.
“One of the Kh-22 missiles, launched from the Kursk Region at about 3:30 p.m. on January 14, 2023, hit a high-rise building in the city of Dnipro (on Naberezhna Peremohy St.). Radar detected approximate launch location, altitude, flight speed. There is no doubt that it was a Kh-22 rocket. The Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have fire weapons capable of shooting down this type of missiles. Since the beginning of Russia’s military aggression, more than 210 missiles of this type have been fired at the territory of Ukraine. None is shot down by air defense,” it said.
Stop Russia, indeed.