Russian air attacks hit Ukraine cities from east to west, more than 20 hurt

Reports of attacks on Ukraine’s Cherkasy, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskiy, Rivne, Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv regions.

epa10873533 Smoke rises atop buildings after a missile strike hit a residential area, in Kyiv, Ukraine, 21 September 2023. "Damage was recorded in Darnytskyi, Solomyanskyi, Shevchenkivskyi districts in Kyiv as a result of falling missiles’ pieces. Fires broke out in Darnytskyi District. Seven people were wounded, including a child." says Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs EPA-EFE/OLEG PETRASYUK 28899
Smoke rises over buildings after a Russian missile strike hit a residential area in Kyiv, Ukraine, on September 21, 2023 [Oleg Petrasyuk/EPA]

More than 20 people have been injured in Russian missile attacks on at least eight regions in Ukraine, according to local officials, and two people were killed in shelling of a residential building in Kherson city.

“Since the beginning of the current day, the Russian occupiers have launched a massive missile attack on the civilian infrastructure of a number of regions,” Ukraine’s General Staff said on Thursday morning.

Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny said that 36 of 43 Russian cruise missiles launched overnight were intercepted and destroyed by Ukraine’s air defences.

Seven people were reported injured in the capital, Kyiv, including a nine-year-old girl, the city’s Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said. Some residential and commercial buildings also suffered damaged.

Missile debris fell in central Kyiv and non-residential buildings were damaged in the east of the city, causing a fire, he said.

Russia launched more than 20 cruise missile against targets in Kyiv, said Sergiy Popko, head of the city’s military administration.

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“According to initial reports, cruise missiles of the X-101/555/55 type were launched from about 10 Tu-95MS strategic aircraft,” Popko said on the Telegram messaging app.

“More than 20 enemy targets were destroyed by air defence forces…. As a result of the downing of the missiles, debris fell in several areas of the capital,” he said.

epa10873536 Local residents stand near the site of a missile strike on a residential area, in Kyiv, Ukraine, 21 September 2023. "Damage was recorded in Darnytskyi, Solomyanskyi, Shevchenkivskyi districts in Kyiv as a result of falling missiles’ pieces. Fires broke out in Darnytskyi District. Seven people were wounded, including a child." says Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs EPA-EFE/OLEG PETRASYUK 28899
Local residents stand near the site of a missile strike on a residential area in Kyiv, Ukraine, on September 21, 2023 [Oleg Petrasyuk/EPA]

Officials and local media also reported attacks in Ukraine’s Cherkasy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskiy, Rivne, Vinnytsia, Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.

In the southern city of Kherson, two people were killed and five injured by Russian artillery shelling that hit a residential building, the regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

“We know of two dead civilians…they were inside the dormitory,” Prokudin said on Telegram.

At least six blasts hit the Slobidskyi district of Kharkiv, damaging civilian infrastructure, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Two people were sent to hospitals, according to reports.

Approximately 10 people were injured and at least one person was rescued from beneath rubble in the Cherkasy region, said Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs.

More than 20 people may still be buried under the rubble, the region’s Governor Ihor Taburets said. Rescue services were working to clear the debris, he said.

An industrial zone was hit in the western Lviv region, damaging buildings and starting a fire but no information on casualties was immediately available, Klymenko said.

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Air attacks were also reported in Rivne city in the region of the same name, Governor Vitalii Koval said without providing details.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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