KYIV (AFP) — A Russian attack overnight on Ukraine’s Ternopil killed nine people and wounded dozens of others in one of the war’s deadliest attacks on the western city, authorities said Wednesday.
“In Ternopil, residential nine-story buildings were hit... dozens of people are known to have been injured and, sadly, nine people have died,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.
He published photos and videos of shattered multi-story buildings surrounded by smoke, in the apparent aftermath of the strike.
“People may be trapped under the rubble,” Zelensky said.
Moscow has been intensifying its daily drone and missile barrages in recent months, targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and hitting a number of civilian sites ahead of winter.
In its latest wave of attacks overnight, Russia launched more than 470 strike drones and 48 missiles of various types, Zelensky said.
The attacks injured people in the northeastern region of Kharkiv and in the western region of Ivano-Frankivsk, local authorities said.
Kharkiv governor Oleg Synegubov said at least 32 people were wounded in the latest overnight attack, including two children and an 18-year-old girl.
“A nine-year-old girl was wounded in the enemy shelling of Kharkiv. Doctors are providing the child with all necessary assistance,” he wrote on Telegram.
A 13-year-old girl was also wounded, and six people were hospitalized.
Kharkiv’s urban districts of Slobidsky and Osnoviansky were hit by 11 drones, causing fires in a nine-story building and damaging cars, garages and a supermarket, he said.
State media Suspilne reported four fires in those districts, citing the regional emergency services spokesperson Yevgen Vasylenko.
Rescuers and police evacuated 48 people, including three children, from the smoke-filled entrance of a high-rise building, Vasylenko said.
In October, Moscow launched its biggest bombing campaign against Ukrainian gas facilities since the start of the 2022 invasion.
Facing another gruelling winter and no sign of peace talks, Zelensky is currently on a European tour trying to garner support for his army and energy infrastructure.
Exhausted and outnumbered Ukrainian troops are struggling to fend off the larger Russian army as it advances on the front in eastern Ukraine, claiming two more villages on Tuesday.