KYIV: A barrage of Russian missiles overnight killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 60 others in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian officials reported, as Moscow attempted to enforce its claim to the illegally annexed territory that Ukraine still controls.
The attack on apartment buildings and houses came hours after a truck bomb explosion Saturday caused the partial collapse of the Kerch Bridge linking mainland Russia with the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
The bridge has been a major munitions and troop supply route for Russian attacks in southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials strongly suggested they had carried out the attack without directly claiming responsibility.
In a video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indirectly acknowledged the attack but did not address its cause.
“Today was not a bad day and mostly sunny on our state’s territory,” he said. “Unfortunately, it was cloudy in Crimea. Although it was also warm.”
Mykhailo Podolyak, a Zelenskyy adviser, lauded the attack, tweeting, “Crimea, the bridge, the beginning. Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled.”
(VOA)
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