Ukraine: day of mourning in the Zaporizhia region, after deadly attacks

The Zaporizhia region in southern Ukraine has decreed a day of mourning on Sunday, the day after a Russian strike which left seven dead and nearly forty injured.

“June 30 is a day of mourning in the Zaporizhia region in memory of those killed by the enemy attack on Vilnyansk,” regional governor Ivan Fedorov said on social media.

Three children, a woman and three men were killed by this strike on Saturday on Vilniansk which also left 36 injured, according to the Interior Ministry. The locality is 29 kilometers northeast of Zaporizhia, the main regional city, under Ukrainian control.

Footage released by emergency services showed workers clearing debris, a low-rise building almost completely destroyed, and officials saying the strike hit stores.

Undated photo published on the official Telegram channel of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry on June 29, 2024, showing firefighters at the site of a Russian strike in Vilnyansk, Zaporizhzhia region © Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine press-service – Handout

Eight people have been killed in 24 hours in villages in the east of the country, Ukraine said.

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And the Russian strikes on the city of Vilnyansk, added to those on villages in the eastern Donetsk region, left a total of 11 dead on Saturday, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The Ukrainian military said on Saturday that Russia was continuing to attack the city of Toretsk, where it has launched an offensive in recent weeks, and that a battle was in progress in the village of New York, close to the front.

New York has been intensely attacked since mid-June as Russian forces advance towards the city of Toretsk, facing an adversary lacking men and ammunition.

Undated photo published on the official Telegram channel of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry on June 29, 2024, showing a house destroyed by a Russian strike in Vilniansk, Zaporizhia region © Press service of the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine – Handout

After these deadly strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his Western allies to “accelerate” their arms deliveries.

Russia says having annexed the Zaporizhia region but, although it occupies large areas of it, it does not control it completely.

The Russian army has already attacked Zaporizhia and neighboring towns several times since the start of its offensive in Ukraine in 2022, but in recent weeks it has mainly concentrated its efforts in the east of the country rather than in the south.

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