Zelensky vows revenge for Chernihiv assault that killed 7 and wounded 144

The incensed Ukrainian chief condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unlawful conflict after the bloody assault on the northern
metropolis of Chernihiv.

Rescuers had been at present nonetheless trying to find survivors, with the useless together with a six-year-old lady named Sofia. Authorities mentioned 12 different kids had been additionally amongst these badly wounded.

Mr Zelensky mentioned: “This is what it means to live next to a terrorist state. This is what we are uniting the entire world against.

“A Russian missile hit the heart of Chernihiv. A square, a university, and a theatre. Russia turned an ordinary day into a day of pain and loss. There are casualties.

“My condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one. All services are working on the site. Rescuers, police, doctors.

“I urge the world to stand up to Russian terror. Provide Ukraine with additional tools to safeguard life. For life to win, Russia must lose this war.”

The United Nations branded the missile assault “heinous”.

The atrocity occurred on Saturday when explosions ripped by way of civilian buildings in Chernihiv.

Among the victims had been worshippers who had been celebrating a non secular vacation at a church, the Ukrainian defence ministry mentioned.

A principal sq. and a college constructing had been badly broken within the assault, whereas the town’s theatre was hit straight. Oleksandr Lomako, appearing mayor of Chernihiv, referred to as the missile strike “a terrorist attack” and a “war crime”.

Mr Lomako mentioned: “It is clear that the Russians launching those missiles in the middle of the day to the civilian city realised that the victims will be primarily civilians.

“There is no other way to ­interpret it than a war crime against civilians, yet another Russian war crime.”

The theatre broken by the Russian strike was internet hosting a ­gathering of drone producers, it was mentioned.

Anna Zahreba, supervisor of a restaurant close to the theatre, mentioned: “I ran outside to see what was going on.

“There were two 12-year-old girls here and a lot of blood. One had her leg badly wounded. Another girl was screaming.”

But Russia remained unrepentant at present, as a substitute warning that it was prepared for a conflict lasting “decades”.

Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and prime minister, mentioned Ukraine would even be “destroyed to the ground” so “even the ashes from it do not remain”.