22 killed in Russian attack on the city of Vinitsia, central Ukraine

The death toll from an attack by Russian forces on the central Ukrainian city of Vinitsia has risen to 22, including three children, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Kirilo Tymoshenko, has denounced.

“So far, 22 people are known to have died as a result of the rocket attack on the city, including three children,” he said in a message on his Telegram account.

He has also stated that “the Russians have hit the center of Vinitsia with ‘Kalibr’ cruise missiles launched from a submarine in the Black Sea,” without Moscow’s statement for now on what happened. “Rescue operations are still active”, said Tymoshenko, who shortly before had indicated that “it is another crime of the occupants against the peaceful city”.

The Ukrainian National Police has reported that at the moment six corpses could already be identified. It has also asked the close relatives of the missing to go to the local authorities so that genetic samples can be taken from them to speed up the recognition of the rest of the victims.

The chief of police, Ihor Klimenko, said that 39 people were missing, while about fifty people were injured to varying degrees. In terms of material damage, more than fifty buildings were affected as well as more than forty vehicles.

According to information gathered by the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform, the shells have hit an office building, which has been completely destroyed, while several residential buildings located in the vicinity have suffered material damage.

For his part, the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, condemned what happened over the city of Vinitsia, which he described as “normal and peaceful” and denounced the damage to several civilian buildings, including a medical clinic.

“Cars and streetcars was on fire. This is a bold act of Russian terror. Humans could not do that, it belongs to animals. Eight missiles, two of which hit the center of the city,” he has lamented.