Ukraine: 17 dead in Russian strike on major northern city

At least 17 people were killed. killed and more than 60 injured in a Russian triple strike on Wednesday Cherniguiv, a large city in northern Ukraine, and President Volodymyr Zelensky once again blamed the lack of aid from the West.

“According to the latest information, 17 people died, including two who died in hospital,” said the Ukrainian State Emergency Situations Service.

“Sixty other people including three children were injured,” he added, specifying that rescue work was continuing.

According to the authorities, “social infrastructure, an educational institution, a hospital” and sixteen residential buildings were damaged. On official images, we could see pools of blood at the scene of the tragedy.

Olga Samoïlenko, a resident, told AFP how she had She took refuge with her children in the corridor of their building to protect themselves when the first missile exploded.

“Our neighbors were already there. We started shouting for everyone to get on the ground. That's what they did. There were two more explosions. So we ran to the parking lot,” said this 33-year-old woman.

Ukraine: deadly strikes in Cherniguiv © AFP – Sylvie HUSSON, Laurence SAUBADU, Jean-Michel CORNU

AFP journalists on site saw a body being extracted from the rubble as well as the most affected building, an eight-story hotel, parts of which were completely destroyed.

Numerous ambulances and fire trucks were visible at the scene, as well as tents set up by police and rescuers. Cars parked near the epicenter had their windshields destroyed.

President Zelensky stressed that Ukraine did not have enough air defenses to prevent this attack, undoubtedly the deadliest against this historic town located around sixty kilometers from the border with Belarus, an ally of Russia, and around a hundred kilometers north of Kiev.

“This would not have happened if Ukraine had received enough air defense equipment and if the world's determination to resist Russian terror had been sufficient,” the Ukrainian leader insisted on Telegram.

Because Russia bombards Ukrainian cities daily with explosive missiles and drones, particularly its energy infrastructure.

– Ukrainian frustration –

Faced with Western aid, particularly American aid, which is running out of steam, Ukraine is faced with a growing lack of means to intercept these devices.

It desperately urges its partners to deliver more weapons and air defense systems.

Rescuers clear the rubble of a destroyed building following a Russian missile attack in Cherniguiv, Ukraine, April 17, 2024 © AFP – Sergiy BUTKO

The reluctance of the allies particularly frustrated kyiv after a massive Iranian air attack against Israel this weekend, successfully repelled in particular thanks to Western military support, while a crucial envelope of American aid to 'Ukraine has been blocked for months in the American Congress.

“Three days ago, in the Middle East, we saw what reliable protection of human lives against missiles looks like,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba wrote bitterly on Facebook on Wednesday.

Map of areas controlled by Ukrainian and Russian forces in Ukraine as of April 16, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. GMT © AFP – Valentin RAKOVSKY, Sophie RAMIS, Cléa PECULIER

In Cherniguiv, three explosions occurred at 9:03 a.m. local time (07:03 GMT) almost in the city center, according to local authorities.

This city, one of the oldest in Ukraine, founded more than 1,000 years ago, had around 300,000 inhabitants before the Russian invasion in February 2024. It had been heavily bombed by the Russian army at the start of this offensive and part of the region had been occupied during several weeks.

– Russian base attacked in Crimea –

The rubble of a building destroyed by a Russian missile attack in Chernigiv, northern Ukraine, April 17, 2024 © AFP – Sergiy BUTKO

On the Russian side, military bloggers and media reported a Ukrainian strike during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday on the Russian military base of Djankoi, in the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Alleged videos of the attack, posted on social media, show impressive explosions in the middle of the night.

According to the Rybar Telegram account, close to the Russian army and followed by more than a million people, 12 ATACMS tactical missiles delivered to kyiv by the United States could have hit this target, damaging equipment and a building.

kyiv and Moscow have not yet officially commented.

Finally, providing a new estimate At a minimum of Russian losses, the independent Russian site Mediazona and the BBC's Russian service said they had identified by name, based on public information, more than 50,000 Russian soldiers killed since the start of the invasion two years ago. Ukraine.

The Russian side does not communicate its losses. For his part, the Ukrainian president admitted in February the deaths of 31,000 soldiers.

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