UMAN: Russian strikes on Friday targeted several cities in Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of 25 people, including five children.
The attacks, which came after a weeks-long pause, included a missile strike on a residential block in the historic city of Uman, where rescue workers extracted victims’ remains from destroyed buildings.
The barrage of almost two dozen missiles targeted cities across Ukraine and ended a weeks-long pause following repeated Russian strikes that had aimed to paralyze Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the winter months.
In Uman, workers pulled the body of another child from under the rubble of the attack, which authorities said was caused by Russian cruise missiles that killed 23 people, including four children. Meanwhile, in the eastern city of Lugansk, which is under Russian control, a local resident named Dmitry pleaded to see his children who were trapped under the rubble of a multi-storey housing block.
Aside from Uman, Russian missiles also hit the central city of Dnipro, which was already grieving from a January strike on a tower block that killed over 40 people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the latest strikes and vowed a response to “Russian terror,” while his advisor Mykhaylo Podolyak urged the international community to provide Ukraine with more weapons and impose additional sanctions.
Moscow, on the other hand, said that it had targeted reserve units of the Ukrainian military and that “all assigned objects were hit.” While there were no reported casualties in Kyiv, which was also targeted on Friday, the country’s air defense system has been strengthened in recent months by the delivery of Western equipment important to the country’s war effort.
Ukraine prepares to push back against Russian positions
The new strikes came as Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said his country’s preparations to push back against Russian positions were almost complete. Partners and NATO allies have provided Ukraine with 1,550 armored vehicles and 230 tanks to form units and help it retake territory from Russian forces, according to NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
Most of the fighting is focused on the eastern Donbas region, particularly the city of Bakhmut, which has been almost completely destroyed. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said on Friday that he had paid a rare visit to the embattled city and vowed Moscow would rebuild it.
As the conflict drags on, Moscow has cultivated its relationship with China, with the leaders of Ukraine and China speaking by telephone this week. Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly advocated for peace talks during the nearly one-hour discussion with Zelensky. Zelensky, meanwhile, requested China’s help in bringing back Ukrainian children deported by Russia.
In response to the latest attacks, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted, “Missile strikes killing innocent Ukrainians in their sleep, including a two-year-old child, is Russia’s response to all peace initiatives.”
