Ukraine accuses Russia of 'open act of terrorism' as strike kills 23
Russian missiles that struck a city in central Ukraine have killed at least 23 people and wounded more than 100, Ukrainian authorities said.
In his nightly address, President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, calling it "an open act of terrorism" against civilians in locations without military value
Officials said Kalibr cruise missiles fired from a Russian submarine in the Black Sea struck civilian buildings in Vinnytsia, which is 268 kilometres (167 miles) southwest of the capital Kyiv, far from the frontline.
The Russian defence ministry, which denies targeting civilians, has not confirmed or commented on the strike.
However, Margarita Simonyan, head of the state-controlled Russian television network RT, was reported to have said on her messaging app channel that military officials told her a building in Vinnytsia was targeted because it housed Ukrainian "Nazis".
Vinnytsia region governor Serhiy Borzov said Ukrainian air defences downed two of the four missiles that were launched.
"There was a building of a medical organisation. When the first rocket hit it, glass fell from my windows," Vinnytsia resident Svitlana Kubas, 74, said.
"And when the second wave came, it was so deafening that my head is still buzzing. It tore out the very outermost door, tore it right through the holes."
National Police Chief Ihor Klymenko said only six of the dead have been identified so far, while 39 people are still missing.
Three children were among the dead. Of the 66 people taken to hospital, five remained in a critical condition while 34 sustained severe injuries, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested the attack was deliberately aimed at civilians.
The strike happened as government officials from about 40 countries met in The Hague to discuss coordinating efforts to investigate and prosecute potential war crimes in Ukraine.
"Every day Russia is destroying the civilian population, killing Ukrainian children, directing missiles at civilian objects. Where there is no military (target). What is it if not an open act of terrorism?", Mr Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Vinnytsia is one of Ukraine's largest cities, with a population of 370,000.
Russian forces also continued artillery and missile attacks in eastern Ukraine, primarily in Donetsk province after overtaking adjacent Luhansk.
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