At least thirteen people were killed in a triple Russian strike on Wednesday in Chernihiv, a large city in northern Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky once again blamed the lack of aid from the West.
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The attack made “thirteen dead and 60 injured at this stage », indicated Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klimenko. The toll is likely to rise, “ at least » three people are missing and the search is still underway. In Chernihiv, “ three explosions occurred » at 9:03 a.m. local time (7:03 a.m. UT), Mayor Oleksandr Lomako indicated earlier in the day on television. It was a ” direct strike on a social infrastructure building “.
Ukraine’s Health Ministry said a health facility was damaged. Six people were hospitalized, he added on Telegram. The governor of the eponymous region of which Chernihiv is the capital indicated that the attack had affected “ nearly » the city center.
One of the oldest cities inUkrainefounded more than 1,000 years ago, Chernihiv, had almost 300,000 inhabitants before the Russian invasion in February 2024. Located about sixty kilometers from the border with Belarus – ally of Russiaand about a hundred kilometers from kyiv, Chernihiv had been heavily bombarded by the Russian army at the start of this offensive and part of its region had been occupied for several weeks.
“This would not have happened if Ukraine had received enough equipment”
President Volodymyr Zelensky estimated that Ukraine did not have enough air defenses to prevent this attack, one of the deadliest against this city. “ This would not have happened if Ukraine had received enough air defense equipment and the world’s determination to resist Russian terror had been sufficient », insisted the Ukrainian leader on Telegram. Russia bombards Ukrainian cities daily with explosive missiles and drones, including its energy infrastructure.
Faced with Western aid, particularly American aid, which is running out of steam, Ukraine is experiencing a growing lack of means to intercept these devices. It urges its partners to deliver more weapons and air defense systems.
The reluctance of the allies has particularly frustrated kyiv after an Iranian air attack on Israel this weekend was successfully repelled, in particular thanks to Western military support, while a crucial envelope of American aid has been blocked for months in Congress.
President Zelensky thus cited the example of a large thermal power station near kyiv, completely destroyed by Russian missiles on April 11, due, according to him, to a lack of ammunition for the anti-aircraft defense supposed to cover it.
“ There were 11 missiles flying. We destroyed seven of them. The remaining four destroyed the Trypillia power plant. For what ? Because we had zero rockets. We were running out of rockets to protect Trypillia “, he said in an interview published Tuesday.