Pre-dawn Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian cities kill at least 19

Kyiv, Apr 28 (EFE).- At least 19 people died in a wave of pre-dawn missile attacks by Russia across Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, on Friday, said officials.

The interior ministry said 15 people died after two cruise missiles hit a residential block and warehouse premises in the central city of Uman in Cherkasy province.

The ministry said 17 people, including three children, were rescued.

According to preliminary data, more than people lived in the block hit by the missile.

“This is Uman. The Russians hit a high-rise building with a rocket. The attack was carried out when civilians were sleeping,” presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak tweeted, posting photos of rubble and burning buildings.

The authorities Russia fired more than 20 cruise missiles at the capital Kyiv and other parts of the country overnight.

In Dnipro, Mayor Boris Filatov reported the death of a woman and her toddler due to another strike.

“A young woman and a three-year-old child were killed,” Filatov wrote on Facebook.

Missiles also hit Kyiv, but there are no known victims.

Yermak said that Ukrainian air defenses shot down 21 of the 23 missiles that Russia launched.

He called for sanctions on countries that assist Moscow in circumventing sanctions and “buy Western chips to produce missiles” and attack his country.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attacks.

“The enemy attacked Ukraine again with missiles and UAVs. Terrorists targeted civilians and objects. A rocket attack on Uman damaged about 10 apartment buildings,” he said.

He said people were still under the rubble.

“In Dnipro, shelling claimed the life of a child. My condolences to everyone who lost their loved ones because of the Russian terror!”

“This Russian terror must face a fair response from Ukraine and the world. And it will,” he said.

It is the deadliest Russian attack in months on Ukrainian cities not located on or near the front.

Meanwhile, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported in its daily military briefing on Friday the death of 20 Russian soldiers “as a result of poisoning due to the use of an unknown substance” in the Russian-occupied Melitopol district, Zaporizhzhia region in southeastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian and international media have reported several cases of Russian soldiers poisoned with food served by Ukrainian civilians in occupied areas. EFE

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