Russian strike kills 13 in Ukraine, injures 30

A Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia killed no fewer than 13 people on Wednesday.

Ukrainian officials said the strike was one of the deadliest single air attacks in weeks during the three-year war.

Newspot recalls that Moscow has ramped up its strikes on Ukraine since the onset of winter, casting some of the attacks as retaliation for Kyiv firing on Russian territory with Western-supplied weapons.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described Wednesday’s bombardment as cruel, calling for the world to rally around Ukraine, and against Russia, to bring about a lasting peace.

Zelensky posted video footage showing several people lying wounded on the streets, covered with debris, and first responders hoisting victims onto makeshift stretchers.

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The strike came hours after Ukrainian drones hit an oil depot that supplies Russia’s air force, hundreds of kilometres behind the front lines, triggering a blaze that claimed the lives of two Russian firefighters.

Ukraine’s interior ministry, in a statement, said the Russians conducted two strikes with guided aerial bombs on the city of Zaporizhzhia, adding that they exploded among crowds of people.

Accusing Russia of deliberately targeting civilians, Zelensky said 13 people were killed and at least 30 wounded in the attack.

“There is nothing more cruel than launching aerial bombs on a city, knowing that ordinary civilians will suffer. This again demonstrates what Russia really wants. They want only war and only victims,” he said in a message on social media.