A Russian backed bomb hit an apartment building in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, 13 dead, 30 wounded, officials say.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the numbers and addressed the families of the dead. He posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, of people in a pool of blood on the street.
He wrote: "Russians hit Zaporizhzhia with aerial bombs. It was a targeted attack on the city. As of now dozens wounded. All are getting medical attention. 13 dead."
He added: "My condolences to their families and loved ones. Unfortunately the number of casualties may grow. There is nothing more cruel than to bomb a city from the air, knowing civilians will suffer. Russia must be made to pay for its terror. Lives in Ukraine must be protected. Only through strength can this war end with peace."
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office says the attack damaged high rise residential buildings, one industrial facility and other infrastructure. Debris from the blast hit a tram and a bus with passengers.
Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said guided missiles from the Russian forces hit a residential area in the afternoon, hitting at least two residential buildings.
Earlier the Ukrainian military said it had hit a fuel storage depot in Russia, where a fire was reported at a facility that supplies missiles to a Russian airbase. The attack targeted a storage facility near Engels, in Russia’s Saratov region.
Ukraine is building up a deep strike capability in case Kyiv is not allowed to use the missiles supplied by the West. In the same vein Zelenskyy asked countries that want to end the war to give Ukraine guarantees of its future defence. He said: "To be honest, I think we have right to demand serious security guarantees from countries that want peace in the world."
Zelenskyy was responding to Trump who said he could understand Russia’s reluctance to let Ukraine into NATO. "Russia has somebody right on their doorstep and I could understand that," Trump said at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Tuesday. Zelenskyy said it’s the US, Germany and Slovakia who are blocking Ukraine’s immediate membership in NATO.
