Russian barrage on Ukrainian city kills five, wounds 34
by AFP Staff Writers
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) July 3, 2024
A Russian drone and missile barrage on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro Wednesday killed five people and wounded nearly three dozen more, officials said.

The attack prompted Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky to call on its allies to help bolster its air defences and provide more long-range weapons to thwart Russian strikes.

"As of now, five people have been killed. My condolences to the families and friends. Thirty-four people were wounded, including a child," Zelensky said in a post on social media.

Russian forces have targeted the industrial city and surrounding region persistently since their invasion two years ago.

The regional governor Sergiy Lysak earlier described the attack as "vicious" and said a 14-year-old girl was among those wounded in the attack.

Amateur footage of the attack published by Ukrainian media showed a huge plume of black smoke rising over the city and drivers speeding from the scene.

The airforce said its air defence systems had downed six drones and five out of seven missiles that were mainly targeting Dnipro.

The head of the Dnipropetrovsk said the barrage was "massive" and posted images showing buildings ripped open by the attack and shattered glass strewn across the ground.

"This is what one of the city's shopping centres looks like now. Cars and windows were smashed, and a petrol station was hit," Mykola Lukashuk said.

Zelensky said Ukraine needed more air defence systems and long-range weapons to stop further Russian attacks.

"The world can protect lives, and it requires the determination of leaders, determination that can and must make it the norm to protect against terror again," he wrote on social media.

Dnipro had a pre-war population of around one million people and lies about 100 kilometres from the nearest point along the southern front line.

More than 40 people were killed in a Russian strike on Dnipro in January 2023, in one of the worst single aerial bombardments by Russian forces.

Separately, officials in Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv said two civilians had been killed in overnight Russian attacks.

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