Kiev, Ukraine (AP) – Regional Governor Serhii Lysak said on Saturday that the death toll from the deaths of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine has risen to 18 children, including nine.
Another 61 people were injured in the attack on Friday, from a three-month-old baby to an elderly resident. Forty were still hospitalized, including two children in critical condition, and 17 were seriously ill.
“This is never forgiven,” said Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the city's defense committee. “An eternal memory of the victim.”
Kryvyi Rih is the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“The missiles hit an area next to the residential building – crashed into the playground and the ordinary streets,” Zelenskyy wrote in the telegram.
Local authorities said the strike damaged about 20 apartment buildings, more than 30 cars, an education building and a restaurant.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Friday that it had held a high-precision missile strike at a restaurant and had a highly explosive warhead at a meeting with unit commanders and Western coaches.
The Russian military claimed the strike killed 85 military personnel and foreign officers and destroyed 20 vehicles. The military's claims cannot be independently verified. The Ukrainian General Staff rejected the claims.
Later a drone strike against Kryvyi Rih killed a woman and injured seven more people.
Zelenskyy blames Russia for its unwillingness to end the war: “Every missile, every drone strike proves that Russia only wants to fight,” he urged Ukraine's allies to increase pressure on Moscow and strengthen Ukraine's air defense.
“The United States, Europe and the rest of the world have enough power to make Russia abandon terror and war,” he said.
