Russian missiles struck Vinnytsia in central Ukraine Thursday, killing at least 23 people including three children, in what President Volodymyr Zelensky called “an open act of terrorism”.
The midday attack on the city hundreds of kilometres from the frontlines and invading Russian troops came as EU officials convened in The Hague to discuss war crimes in Ukraine.
The charred remains of upturned cars surrounded by burnt debris were seen in images distributed by officials next to a business gutted by a fire with brown smoke billowing nearby.
In his daily address to the nation late Thursday Zelensky confirmed the toll and said it was likely to rise, with dozens still missing and many hospitalized in critical condition.
“No other state in the world poses such a terrorist threat as Russia,” a somber Zelensky said. “No other state in the world allows itself to destroy peaceful cities and ordinary human life with cruise missiles and rocket artillery on a daily basis.”—AFP