Deaths from Russian attack in Ukraine rise to 45

The final death toll from a Russian attack on a residential building in southeastern Ukraine stands at 45, authorities said Tuesday as the body of another child was pulled from the ruins. The attack on Saturday in the city of Dnipro is the deadliest attack on civilians in a single town so far in the war.

Among the dead were five children, and 79 people were also injured, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy secretary of the presidency of Ukraine. The final death toll includes two dozen people initially considered missing in the multi-story building that housed some 1,700 people, Tymoshenko said.

Rescue teams have cleared some 9 tons of rubble during the search operation, the Dnipro municipal council said. Some 400 people lost their homes; 72 apartments were completely ruined and another 236 suffered irreparable damage, it added.

international condemnation

The attack has drawn international condemnation. It also led to the resignation of a Ukrainian presidential aide who said the missile exploded and fell after Ukraine’s anti-aircraft defense system shot it down, a claim that could to some extent clear Russian forces of blame.

Oleksii Arestovich’s statements in an interview on Saturday night caused a stir. Resigning, he said his comments had been “a fundamental mistake.”

The Ukrainian air force stressed that the country’s forces do not have a system capable of shooting down Russian Kh-22-type missiles, which it said is the type of missile that fell on the building.

“Since the beginning of the Russian military aggression, more than 210 missiles of this type have been launched against Ukrainian territory. None were shot down by anti-aircraft systems,” the air force stated on Saturday.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to bring those responsible for the attack to justice, saying it is “a fundamental task” for Ukraine and its Western allies.

“This attack on Dnipro, like other similar attacks, falls in particular under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court,” he said in a video message late Monday.

“And we will seize every available opportunity – both domestic and international – to ensure that all Russian murderers, everyone who gives and executes orders for missile terrorism against our people, faces legal sentences. And make sure they serve their punishment,” he said.

You may also be interested: Wagner Group: the paramilitary organization of Russian mercenaries linked to Putin

Follow us on Google news, Facebook Y Twitter to keep you informed.