Three dead after Russian attack on Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine, Aug 9 (Reuters) – Two young women and a man were killed and nine other people were wounded in a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia late on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.

A Reuters reporter at the scene saw emergency workers lifting a body, putting it on a stretcher, and wrapping it into a black body bag.

Rescuers sifted through debris and an ambulance was parked near damaged buildings.

“Three people dead and nine people injured including an 11-month baby – this is the result of the strike on the regional centre,” a statement from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said. “The Russian shell took away the lives of a 43-year-old man and young women who were 19 and 21.”

Officials said two of the people had been killed on the spot and a woman had died overnight at a hospital.

A video posted by Zelenskiy showed smoke rising from burning and badly damaged buildings next to a church.

Zaporizhzhia city council secretary Anatoliy Kurtev said the church had been destroyed and about 15 high-rise buildings had been damaged. The authorities received requests from residents of at least 400 apartments to repair smashed windows and damaged balconies.

Pictures posted by city officials on the Telegram messaging app showed several buses and a row of foldable tables and chairs set up outside near damaged buildings where residents and city workers were filling in papers to record the damages.

Ukrainian officials have reported a recent increase in the amount of Russian shelling of the Zaporizhzhia region in the south.

Zelenskiy’s office said the Russian military over the past 24 hours had conducted 82 strikes on 21 villages and towns across the Zaporizhzhia region, using artillery, missiles and drones.

The Ukrainian military launched an offensive on occupying Russian forces in the key Zaporizhzhia region at the start of the summer and reported steady advances in that direction.

Reporting by Vladyslav Smilianets, writing by Olena Harmash
Editing by Gareth Jones

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.