At Least 20 Dead in Russian Strike on Apartment Building

This story has been updated with new developments. Russia fired more than 20 cruise missiles at Ukraine early Friday, killing at least 22 people, most of them when two missiles slammed into an apartment building in the center of the country, officials said. The strikes on the nine-story residential building in central Ukraine occurred in Uman, a city located around 134 miles south of Kyiv. Twenty people died in that attack, according to the Interior Ministry. They included two 10-year-old children and a toddler. The Ukrainian national police said 17 people were wounded and three children were rescued from the rubble. Another of the victims was a 75-year-old woman who lived in a neighboring building and suffered internal bleeding from the huge blast's shock wave, according to emergency personnel at the scene.

The bombardment was nowhere near the war's sprawling front lines or active combat zones in eastern Ukraine, where a grinding war of attrition has taken hold, the AP reports. The attacks included the first one against Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, in nearly two months, although there were no reports of any targets hit. The city government said Ukraine’s air force intercepted 11 cruise missiles and two unmanned drones over Kyiv. A 31-year-old woman and her 2-year-old daughter were also killed in the eastern city of Dnipro in another attack, regional Gov. Serhii Lysak said.

Moscow has frequently launched long-range missile attacks during the 14-month war, often indiscriminately hitting civilian areas. Ukrainian officials and analysts have alleged the strikes are part of a deliberate intimidation strategy by the Kremlin. Russia has denied that its military aims at civilian targets. In Kyiv, fragments from intercepted missiles or drones damaged power lines and a road in one neighborhood. No casualties were reported. The city's anti-aircraft system was activated, according to the Kyiv City Administration.

story continues below

The attacks came as NATO announced that its allies and partner countries have delivered more than 98% of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine during Russia’s invasion and war, strengthening Kyiv's capabilities as it contemplates launching a counteroffensive. (On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had his first phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping since the February 2022 invasion.)