Russia has chosen the city of Zaporizhia as the target of one of its worst attacks against Ukraine’s civilian population in recent months. The death toll so far is 13 dead and 113 wounded, of which ten are in serious condition, reported the head of the Regional Military Administration, Ivan Fedorov. The attack occurred this Wednesday with two guided aerial bombs that exploded among a crowd of people on a wide avenue in the center of this city, capital of the province of the same name. “Medical assistance has been provided to 113 victims, including a 13-year-old girl,” Fedorov wrote on Telegram, where he also reported that 59 people remain hospitalized. The last time Russia hit this city was just a month ago, when two consecutive bombings killed 21 people.
The bombs fell in broad daylight, so the streets were full of pedestrians and vehicles, three of which burned. According to rescue teams, a fire in an 800-square-meter administrative building was extinguished. Two other administrative buildings, a residential skyscraper and 36 means of transport, including a tram and a minibus, have also been damaged, the Ministry of the Interior reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the bombing as a direct attack on the city and ordinary people. “An absolutely deliberate attack by the Russian army. This shows once again what Russia really wants. They only want war and only victims,” he condemned.
More than 12,300 civilians have died in the war in Ukraine since Russia invaded almost three years ago, according to the latest United Nations count, released this Wednesday. Nada Al Nashif, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, has indicated in a statement that since September there has been a greater than usual increase in the number of victims due to the use of drones, long-range missiles and gliding bombs.
“The Russian armed forces intensified their operations to capture more territory in eastern Ukraine, with a serious impact on civilians on the front lines, particularly in the regions of Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia,” denounces Al Nashif. “We are deeply concerned about the impact on the civilian population of the increasing use of drones and the use of new weapons,” he added, referring in part to Russia’s use of highly destructive guided bombs in residential areas, such as those used now in Zaporizhzhia.
Zaporizhzhia, which before the large-scale Russian invasion had some 710,000 inhabitants, is frequently hit by bombing by Russian forces in their attempt to take over the region, which is key to the conflict: it is home to the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and is a strategic corridor towards the Sea of Azov, making it a critical military and energy point in the war.
Most of Zaporizhzhia province remains under Russian occupation, including the coast, since September 30, 2022, when Moscow declared its unilateral annexation along with the provinces of Kherson, Donetsk and Lugansk. The capital of Zaporizhzhia, of the same name, however, remains under the administration of Ukraine.
On the other hand, between Tuesday and Thursday morning, Russia attacked Ukraine with 70 unmanned attack aerial vehicles of the Shahed type, of which 46 were repelled, reports the Ministry of Defense, while the rest were imitation drones. of which trace was lost. The devices were directed towards the regions of Poltava, Sumi, Kharkiv, Cherkassy, Chernihiv, kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Mikolaiv. In Kharkov, Sumi and Cherkasi, several homes have been damaged or debris from downed drones has fallen.
