13-3-2024 (KYIV) A Russian missile slammed into two apartment buildings in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on March 12, killing at least three people and injuring 38 others, including 10 children. Rescue teams worked tirelessly through the night, sifting through the rubble in a desperate search for survivors.
The strike, which hit a five-story and a nine-story residential building, sent shockwaves through the city and left a trail of destruction in its wake. Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, initially reported 28 adults and 10 children among the injured, but warned that the numbers were continuously rising.
“Two buildings were hit, one five storeys, one nine storeys,” Lysak wrote on Telegram, revealing the extent of the damage caused by the Russian missile strike.
Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of Kryvyi Rih’s military administration, confirmed that at least three missile hits were recorded in the city. He added that at least five adults and one child were in critical condition among those being treated in hospitals.
The harrowing scene unfolded as video footage showed a blaze engulfing the top of one apartment block, while rescue teams frantically ferried the injured out of shattered building entrances. With balconies all but destroyed and windows blown out, cranes reached up to the upper floors of the buildings, illuminated by floodlights.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko praised the efforts of emergency services and concerned residents, who rallied together to rescue those trapped in their apartments and continue the search for anyone who might be buried under the rubble.
Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky, has been a frequent target of Russian attacks throughout the ongoing conflict. Zelensky, deeply affected by the tragedy in his birthplace, praised the rescue teams on Telegram and vowed that Russia would be held accountable for its actions.
“Every day, our cities and villages suffer similar strikes. Every day, Ukraine loses people to Russian evil,” Zelensky wrote, emphasizing the ongoing toll of the Russian aggression on Ukrainian civilians.
“There can be no pause, not for a day, a week, let alone a month, in support for simply defending lives, for saving people from terror,” he added, underscoring the urgency of the situation and the need for unwavering support in the face of such atrocities.
The rescue operation in Kryvyi Rih following the Russian missile strike has been completed. Dozens of people were injured, nine of them children. Three people have been killed. My condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one.
Those injured are receiving the necessary… pic.twitter.com/1lzRv2wHyH
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 12, 2024
