Russian strike kills 13 in Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine - A Russian guided bomb attack on Jan 8 killed at least 13 people and injured 63 in Ukraine's southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, the authorities said.

The blast left bodies strewn across a road alongside injured residents. Public transport was also damaged in the strike.

Prosecutors in the region said 63 people had been injured. Rescue work had been completed at the site of the attack.

High-rise apartment blocks were damaged along with an industrial facility and other infrastructure, Ukraine’s prosecutor-general office said on Telegram. The debris hit a tram and a bus with passengers inside, it added.

As emergency workers tried to resuscitate a man, raging flames, smoke and burnt cars could be seen in the background.

Russian troops had used two guided bombs to hit a residential area, regional governor Ivan Fedorov told reporters.

At least four of the injured were rushed to hospital in serious condition, Mr Fedorov said, adding that Jan 9 would be an official day of mourning.

“There is nothing more cruel than launching aerial bombs on a city, knowing that ordinary civilians will suffer,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X, urging Ukraine’s Western allies to step up pressure on Russia.

The regional authorities reported further explosions after the first strike hit.

Mr Fedorov said Russian troops shelled the town of Stepnohirsk, south of Zaporizhzhia, killing two people. Two residents were pulled alive from underneath rubble.

Russia regularly carries out air strikes on the Zaporizhzhia region,

which its forces partially occupy, and its capital. Moscow claims to have annexed the Ukrainian region along with four others including Crimea.

Public broadcaster Suspilne also reported two people killed and 10 injured in attacks on several centres in the southern region of Kherson, also partially occupied by Russian forces. REUTERS