Several dead in Russian missile attack on Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine - Two young women and a man were killed in a Russian missile attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia late on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said.

Nine people were also wounded.

A Reuters reporter at the scene saw emergency workers lifting a body, putting it on a stretcher and wrapping it into a black body bag.

Rescuers sifted through debris and an ambulance was parked near damaged buildings.

“Three people dead and nine people injured including an 11-month baby – this is the result of the strike on the regional centre,” a statement from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said.

“The Russian shell took away the lives of a 43-year-old man and young women who were 19 and 21.”

Officials said two of the people were killed on the spot while a woman died at a hospital.

A video posted by Mr Zelensky showed smoke billowing from burning and badly damaged buildings next to a church.

Zaporizhzhia city council secretary Anatoliy Kurtev said the church had been destroyed and about 15 high-rise buildings had been damaged.

The authorities received requests from residents of at least 400 apartments to repair smashed windows and damaged balconies.

Pictures posted by city officials on the Telegram messaging app showed several buses and a row of foldable tables and chairs set up outside near damaged buildings, where residents and city workers were filling in papers to record the damage.

Ukrainian officials have reported a recent increase in the amount of Russian shelling of the Zaporizhzhia region in the south.

Mr Zelensky’s office said the Russian military had, over the past 24 hours, conducted 82 strikes on 21 villages and towns across the Zaporizhzhia region, using artillery, missiles and drones.

The Ukrainian military launched an offensive on occupying Russian forces in the key Zaporizhzhia region at the start of the summer and reported steady advances in that direction.

REUTERS