UMAN: Russia fired more than 20 cruise missiles and two drones at Ukraine early Friday, killing at least 16 people, most of them when two missiles slammed into an apartment building in the center of the country, officials said. Three children were among the dead.
The missile attacks included the first one against Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, in nearly two months, although there were no reports of any targets hit. The city government said Ukraine’s air force intercepted 11 cruise missiles and two unmanned aerial vehicles over Kyiv.
The strikes on the nine-story residential building in central Ukraine occurred in Uman, a city located around 215 kilometers (134 miles) south of Kyiv. Fourteen people died in that attack, according to the interior ministry, including two 10-year-old children and a toddler.
Another of the victims was a 75-year-old woman who lived in a neighboring building and suffered internal bleeding from the huge blast’s shock wave, according to emergency personnel at the scene.
The Ukrainian national police said 17 people were wounded and three children were rescued from the rubble. Nine were hospitalized.
The bombardment was nowhere near the war’s sprawling front lines or active combat zones in eastern Ukraine, where a grinding war of attrition has taken hold. Moscow has frequently launched long-range missile attacks during the 14-month war, often indiscriminately hitting civilian areas.
Ukrainian officials and analysts have alleged the strikes are part of a deliberate intimidation strategy by the Kremlin. Russia has denied its military aims at civilian targets.
Survivors of the Uman strikes recounted terrifying moments as the missiles hit when it still was dark outside.
Halyna, a building resident, said she and her husband were covered in glass by the blast. They saw flames outside their window and scrambled out, but first Halyna checked whether her friend in a neighboring apartment was OK.
“I was calling, calling her (on the phone), but she didn’t pick up. I even rang the doorbell, but still no answer,” she told The Associated Press. She used the spare keys from her friend’s apartment and went inside to check on her. She found her lying dead on her apartment floor.
Halyna refused to provide her last name out of security concerns.
Another building resident, Olha Turina, told the AP that glass from the explosion flew everywhere.
Turina, whose husband is fighting on the front lines, said one of her child’s classmates was missing.
“I don’t know where they are, I don’t know if they are alive,” she said. “I don’t know why we have to go through all this. We never bothered anyone.”
Three body bags lay next to the building as smoke continued to billow hours after the attack. Soldiers, civilians and emergency crews searched through the rubble outside for more victims, while residents dragged belongings out of the damaged building.
One woman, crying in shock, was taken away by rescue crews for help.
A 31-year-old woman and her 2-year-old daughter were also killed in the eastern city of Dnipro in another attack, regional Governor Serhii Lysak said. Four people were also wounded, and a private home and business were damaged.
The attacks came days after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a “long and meaningful” phone call where Xi said his government will send a peace envoy to Ukraine and other nations.
乌克兰外交部长库列巴(Dmytro Kuleba)说，周五的轰炸表明克里姆林宫对和平协议不感兴趣。
“导弹袭击杀死了睡梦中的无辜乌克兰人，包括一名两岁的孩子，这是俄罗斯对所有和平倡议的回应，”他在推特上写道。“实现和平的途径是把俄罗斯赶出乌克兰。”
在基辅，被拦截的导弹或无人机碎片损坏了一个社区的输电线和一条道路。没有人员伤亡报告。
乌克兰官员上周表示，他们已经收到了美国制造的爱国者(Patriot)导弹，为基辅提供了一种长久以来寻求的新防御系统，以抵御俄罗斯的空袭，但没有透露周五是否使用了该系统。
据基辅市政府称，该市的防空系统已经启动。空袭警报在凌晨4点左右响起，警报在大约两小时后结束。
这是自3月9日以来对首都的首次导弹袭击。防空系统最近挫败了俄罗斯无人机的袭击。
据乌克兰武装部队总司令Valerii Zaluzhnyi称，导弹是从里海地区的飞机上发射的。
他说，总的来说，乌克兰拦截了发射的23枚Kh-101和Kh-555型巡航导弹中的21枚，以及两架无人机。
战争在冬季基本停止，成为一场消耗战，双方都从远处炮击对方的阵地。乌克兰一直在用西方盟国提供的装甲装备组建自己的机械化旅，西方盟国也一直在训练乌克兰军队并运送弹药。
北约(NATO)周四宣布，其盟国和伙伴国已经交付了98%以上在俄罗斯全面入侵和战争期间承诺交付给乌克兰的战斗车辆。基辅方面正在考虑可能的反攻。
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