Status: 01/15/2023 1:45 p.m
It was one of the heaviest rocket attacks in recent times: more than 20 people died in the rubble of a residential building in Dnipro. Ukraine speaks of “Russian terror” – and calls again for more weapons.
Firefighters extinguish fires amidst thick clouds of smoke, rescue workers search through rubble that was a house hours earlier. Clean-up operations continued throughout the night in Dnipro, central Ukraine.
On Saturday, a Russian missile hit a nine-story apartment building, which partially collapsed. The attack claimed at least 21 lives, including a child. More than 70 people were injured and the fate of at least 30 others remains unknown.
“I was shocked”
Ivan Garnuk lives in the immediate vicinity, but his residential building remained intact. Pure luck, as he says: “I was woken up by the explosion. I immediately ran to the window – fire, smoke could be seen. I then went outside. Many people were standing around the building, they were screaming, stunned. A Part of the house was just gone. I was shocked too.”
He never thought that a rocket would hit here. “This is a residential area, there are no military facilities here,” he says.
Three days of mourning
The Dnipro City Council has declared a three-day mourning. More than 400 people have also lost their homes and have to be resettled, it is said. Probably not an easy task, especially since many internally displaced people are already living in the city of 900,000.
The rocket attack on Dnipro was the most devastating in a string of attacks across the country – the worst so far in the new year. Air raid alarms were sounded twice in the capital, Kyiv, and explosions were heard, apparently as a result of fired missiles. They shook walls in the city. Debris did some damage.
In some parts of the country, the power supply collapsed once again. Attacks on Cherson in the south of the country were also reported on Sunday morning.
Selenskyj demands weapons
Political reactions in Ukraine were unanimous. As an example, Andryj Ermak, head of the presidential office in Kyiv, spoke of “Russian terror” – although there was no official statement from Moscow itself.
Head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a similar statement in his evening video message: “Russia has again attacked Ukrainian cities. Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Lviv and others. Only civilian objects were hit,” he said.
In Dnipro, a residential building was destroyed, which is often found in this form in Central and Eastern Europe. The youngest victim in Dnipro is three years old. “Can Russia be stopped?” he asked. “Yes. What does it take? Weapons from our partners’ stocks, which our army is waiting for.”
“Challenger 2” for Ukraine
They should now be delivered promptly from Great Britain, for example. London has promised Ukraine 14 Challenger 2 battle tanks. Statements by a high-ranking Ukrainian military also suggested that Kyiv is dependent on further military support.
Accordingly, the Ukrainian air defense has not yet been able to neutralize a certain type of Russian cruise missiles that are said to be responsible for the attack in Dnipro. Western systems, such as the “Patriot” type, are needed for this. The US has already promised Ukraine this system.