KYIV, July 16 (Reuters) – Russian forces shelled the southern Ukrainian city of Nikopol on Saturday, killing at least 37 people and wounding scores more in the past three days, the latest in a series of bombings in urban areas.
Ukrainian emergency services said two people were injured and two others were trapped under rubble in Nikopol on the Dnipro River.
Late Friday, Russian missiles hit the town of Dnipro, about 120 km (75 miles) north of Nikopol, killing three people and wounding 15 others, regional governor Valentin Resnichenko said in a telegram. The rockets hit a factory and the next street over it, he said. Footage posted on social media showed thick black smoke billowing from buildings and burning cars. read more
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A Russian strike hit the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sukhiv in the Kharkiv region overnight, killing three people, including a woman in her 70s, and wounding three others, the regional governor said. read more
The strike damaged a residential block, a school and a shop, and rescue workers were working their way through the rubble, Governor Ole Sinehupov said in a telegram.
The attacks are the latest in a series of Russian successes in recent weeks, using long-range missiles against crowded buildings in cities.
Eight people were killed and 13 wounded in shelling at 10 locations in eastern Donetsk, Governor Pavlo Kirilenko said in a televised interview on Friday.
On Thursday, Kalibr cruise missiles fired from a Russian submarine in the Black Sea struck an office building in Vinnytsia, a city of 370,000 people about 200 km (125 miles) southwest of Kyiv.
Kyiv said at least 23 people were killed and dozens injured in the strike.
In Vinnytsia, residents laid teddy bears and flowers at a memorial to those killed.
Among the dead was Lisa, a 4-year-old girl with Down’s syndrome, who was found in the debris next to the pram. Pictures of him pushing the same pram, which his mother posted on a blog within two hours of the attack, quickly went viral.
Her seriously injured mother, Irina Dmitrieva, was kept in a hospital blackout for fear that she would kill her daughter if she found out, doctors said.
“He suffers from burns, chest wounds, abdominal wounds, liver and spleen injuries. We have sewn the organs together, the bones were crushed as if they had gone through a meat grinder,” said Oleksandr Fomin, head doctor of the Vinnytsia Emergency Hospital. . If told about daughter’s death, “we will miss her”.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the strike on Vinnytsia targeted a building where top officials of Ukraine’s armed forces were meeting with foreign arms dealers. read more
Despite mounting evidence that Russian missiles have hit residential areas across the country, Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilian areas. The United Nations says thousands of civilians have been killed since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Tens of thousands of militants have also been killed.
Grain improvement
Despite the bloodshed, both sides described progress toward an agreement to lift an embargo limiting Ukrainian grain exports. Mediator Turkey has said the deal could be signed next week.
Asked if that deadline was realistic, a senior Ukrainian official told Reuters: “We believe so. We are moving as quickly as we can.” The officer asked not to be identified.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said a deal was close, but Moscow’s negotiator warned that a grain deal would not lead to the resumption of peace talks.
A deal could include inspections of ships to make sure Ukraine is not bringing weapons, and assurances from the West that Russia’s own food exports are exempt from sanctions.
The war has dominated the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Indonesia. The group is unlikely to issue a formal statement on Saturday, two sources said. Russia is a member, as are the G7 industrial powers, along with China, India and South Africa. read more
Western sources warned that a report this week would be difficult to adopt because the body works on a consensus basis and Russia has blocked language about the cause of the economic downturn that prompted the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to downgrade. Predictions.
“The G20’s ability to function and communicate has been severely hampered by the war in Ukraine, for which one of the G20 members is fully responsible,” a French finance ministry source said.
Russia calls its intervention a “special military operation” to disarm Ukraine and root out nationalists. Kiev and its allies call it an unprovoked attempt to retake a country freed from Moscow’s rule in 1991.
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Report by Reuters Bureau; Written by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing: William Mallard
Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
