Zelensky vows revenge for Chernihiv attack that killed 7 and wounded 144

The incensed Ukrainian leader condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal war after the bloody assault on the northern
city of Chernihiv.

Rescuers were today still searching for survivors, with the dead including a six-year-old girl named Sofia. Authorities said 12 other children were also among those badly wounded.

Mr Zelensky said: “This is what it means to live next to a terrorist state. This is what we are uniting the entire world against.

“A Russian missile hit the heart of Chernihiv. A square, a university, and a theatre. Russia turned an ordinary day into a day of pain and loss. There are casualties.

“My condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one. All services are working on the site. Rescuers, police, doctors.

“I urge the world to stand up to Russian terror. Provide Ukraine with additional tools to safeguard life. For life to win, Russia must lose this war.”

The United Nations branded the missile attack “heinous”.

The atrocity happened on Saturday when explosions ripped through civilian buildings in Chernihiv.

Among the victims were worshippers who had been celebrating a religious holiday at a church, the Ukrainian defence ministry said.

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A main square and a university building were badly damaged in the attack, while the city’s theatre was hit directly. Oleksandr Lomako, acting mayor of Chernihiv, called the missile strike “a terrorist attack” and a “war crime”.

Mr Lomako said: “It is clear that the Russians launching those missiles in the middle of the day to the civilian city realised that the victims will be primarily civilians.

“There is no other way to ­interpret it than a war crime against civilians, yet another Russian war crime.”

The theatre damaged by the Russian strike was hosting a ­gathering of drone manufacturers, it was said.

Anna Zahreba, manager of a restaurant near the theatre, said: “I ran outside to see what was going on.

“There were two 12-year-old girls here and a lot of blood. One had her leg badly wounded. Another girl was screaming.”

But Russia remained unrepentant today, instead warning that it was ready for a war lasting “decades”.

Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and prime minister, said Ukraine would also be “destroyed to the ground” so “even the ashes from it do not remain”.

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