(Change dateline, updated balance sheet)
CHERNIHIV, April 17 (Reuters) – Three Russian missiles hit the center of Chernihiv, in northern Ukraine, on Wednesday, killing at least sixteen people, injuring more than sixty and damaging infrastructure, local authorities reported.
For several weeks, Russia has been carrying out a massive campaign of strikes on Ukraine’s infrastructure, which is desperately awaiting increased military aid from its Western allies, particularly in anti-aircraft defense means.
“This would not have happened if Ukraine had received enough air defense equipment and the international community’s determination to counter Russian terror had been sufficient,” President Volodimir Zelensky said on Telegram messaging.
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Videos obtained by Reuters showed flames and columns of black smoke rising above Chernihiv, located about 150 kilometers from the capital Kyiv and not far from the Belarusian border.
Acting Chernihiv Mayor Oleksandr Lomako said three explosions shook a busy area of the city shortly after 9 a.m. local time (0600 GMT).
He said more than 60 people, including three children, were injured.
A multi-story building was destroyed and a hospital, an education center and dozens of vehicles were also damaged, he added.
Local health authorities called on residents to donate blood and a day of mourning in the city was declared. (Anastasiia Malenko and Olena Harmash; Jean-Stéphane Brosse and Alban Kacher for the French version, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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