At least 17 people have been killed and dozens injured after three Russian missiles hit the centre of Chernihiv, a city in northern Ukraine near the Russian border.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Kyiv’s allies to send air defence support after Chernihiv, which had a prewar population of 300,000, became the latest target of an intensifying Russian airstrike campaign. “This would not have happened if Ukraine had received sufficient air defence equipment and if the world’s determination to counter Russian terror had been sufficient,” Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.
Videos showed flames and columns of black smoke rising over Chernihiv, which is about 90 miles (150km) from the capital, Kyiv.
Three explosions ripped through a busy central area of the city shortly after 9am local time, destroying a hotel, officials said. The strike also damaged several multistorey residential buildings, a hospital, an education facility and dozens of private cars.
“Unfortunately, Russia continues to engage in terrorist activity against civilians and civilian infrastructure as confirmed by this strike on Chernihiv once again,” the acting mayor, Oleksandr Lomako, said on national television. He said more than 60 people, including three children, had been wounded.
The regional governor, Vyacheslav Chaus, told the public broadcaster Suspilne that Russia had attacked Chernihiv with three Iskander cruise missiles.
Iryna, 35, a local resident, told Reuters: “I haven’t come to my senses fully yet, and I don’t understand everything that happened. The main thing for me is that my child in school was in a basement [shelter]. The school is nearby and I was most worried for them to have enough time to go down.”
Schools are equipped with shelters in basements for children and teachers to take cover there.
As civilians cleared up glass and debris with shovels near residential houses, doctors urged people to donate blood and city officials declared a day of mourning.
after newsletter promotion
Ukraine is facing an acute shortage of ammunition, including air defence systems and missiles, with vital funding from the US blocked by Republicans in Congress for months and the EU failing to deliver munitions on time.
Russia has taken advantage of these delays in recent weeks, intensifying its attacks on Ukrainian cities and targeting the energy sector and other critical infrastructure. It denies targeting civilians.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, thanked Germany for providing an additional, third Patriot air defence battery and urged Ukraine’s other allies to follow suit.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and has launched thousands of missiles and drones against cities, towns and villages in attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians.