18 dead after Russian missiles strike cities across Ukraine, says Zelenskiy | Ukraine

Russia has carried out a series of attacks against Ukraine, killing 18 people, injuring more than 130 and damaging a sports club in central Kiev, one of several civilian buildings, Volodymyr Zelensky said. he said.

Ukraine's president said in a video address Tuesday night that more than 200 locations had been bombed, including 139 homes.

The early morning airstrikes targeted the Ukrainian capital and Kharkov, and an air raid siren was sounded at 5:43 a.m. local time. About an hour later, a series of explosions occurred and flaming debris fell from the sky.

Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Valery Zarzhiny said that his air defense forces had shot down 21 of 41 enemy missiles and had missed the others. A fire hit an apartment building in Kharkiv, killing seven people and injuring 51 others.

In recent weeks, Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine's second-largest city, using short-range ballistic missiles believed to have been supplied by North Korea. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said rescue teams were searching for survivors and survivors. The body of a 9-year-old girl was found under the rubble.. Her mother was also killed.

video Showing the moment when the almost 1 tonne rocket hit, sending a plume of black smoke above the snowy city skyline.couple They hugged each other and watched the building burn.

In central Kiev, a Russian projectile landed on the roof of the Lokomotiv Sports Club near the southern train station. The accident shattered the balconies and windows of his 15-storey block opposite and of a dormitory used by railway workers, families and students. He also targeted three other districts.

“It was really scary,” said Margherita, one of the residents. “There was a metallic sound and the window glass blew in. I saw glass in my face. The Russians are crazy. They don't care about human life.

“I sincerely hope that the world will help us. We need more support because our enemies are more powerful than America. In my opinion, the United States is secretly are afraid of Russia.”

Zelenskiy described Tuesday's airstrike as a “deliberate terrorist attack” carried out by Russia against civilians and residential buildings. “Unfortunately, there are casualties.”

Zelenskiy added: “Despite all the difficulties, our heroic rescue workers are always the first to arrive at the scene of enemy fire and continue to carry out extremely important tasks to save people.” added.

So far, Ukraine has been able to shoot down many of the long-range weapons launched by Russia. However, the Kremlin's apparent winter strategy is to exhaust Kiev's supply of anti-aircraft missiles and ultimately destroy its highly effective US-supplied air defense system.

The White House and the Pentagon have warned that they will soon be unable to supply interceptor missiles to Ukraine's Patriot Squadron. Parliamentary Republicans are blocking $61bn (£48bn) in military aid, which Kiev officials say will make Ukrainian cities even more vulnerable.

The strike shook the heart of the capital. On Tuesday morning, local residents swept up broken glass and inspected the car for damage. Some were destroyed.

The explosion went through Lokomotiv's fan shop and destroyed the inside of the team's clubhouse. The locker room was filled with rubble, and next to it was a staircase decorated with autographs and framed football shirts.

One of the residents, Natalia, said she woke up her 4-year-old daughter Sophia when she heard the alarm and took her to an underground shelter.

The explosion blew out the window in Sophia's room, scattering jagged glass shards across the bed. “We always follow the warnings, thank God,” Natalia said.

Natalia's husband Oleg said several people at the hostel, including two students, were hit by flying glass. He said: “Kiev is at least well defended. In Kharkov, the situation is even worse due to its proximity to the Russian border.”

He said the Russian government's relentless airstrikes against Ukrainian civilians meant there was no prospect of peace talks or negotiations with President Vladimir Putin.

Further, “The Soviet Union arrested my great-grandfather and put him in a concentration camp on the Solovetsky Islands. They said he was Ukrainian. crack [wealthy peasant]. he died there. Russia has oppressed us for centuries. They are our mortal enemies. ”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced on Tuesday that 22 people were injured and 13 were taken to hospital. One woman was revived. Rescue workers found an unexploded warhead in an apartment in the Svyatoshin district. Residents were evacuated from the five-story building and bombs were loaded onto trucks using a crane.

At least one person was killed and another injured in the city of Pavlohrad in the east-central Dnipropetrovsk region.

Russia admitted that its military carried out a “massive attack” using “high-precision, long-range air and ground weapons.” It claimed to have targeted Ukraine's “military-industrial complex” and sites used to manufacture missiles and ammunition.

Dennis Brown, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, called the attack “brutal and indiscriminate.”

She added: “The attack caused damage to a civilian building right next to the United Nations office in Kyiv. It is yet another poignant reminder of the suffering.”