KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian missiles slammed into the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing at least one person and likely trapping others beneath rubble, an official said Monday.
The two missiles struck an apartment building, destroying a section of it between the fourth and ninth floors, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said, and a university building. Ten people were wounded, he said.
Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region and has seldom been targeted by the Kremlin’s forces since the war began in February 2022.
But bombardment with missiles, artillery and drones has been a hallmark of Moscow’s tactics since the full-scale invasion, with some aerial attacks hitting civilian areas. Russian officials insist they only take aim at legitimate military targets.
That approach has continued during Kyiv’s recently launched counteroffensive that is trying to drive Russian forces out of occupied areas.
Commenting on the attack, Ukraine’s president said that “in recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centers, shelling civilian objects and housing.”
“But this terror will not frighten us or break us,” Zelenskyy said in a social media statement.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has sought to take the war deep into Russia, reportedly using drones to hit targets as far away as Moscow. The latest strike, on Sunday, damaged two office buildings a few miles (kilometers) from the Kremlin.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
