The death toll from a Russian missile strike on an apartment block in Dnipro has tragically risen to 40, Ukrainian officials reported on Monday, despite continued missiles and explosions across the country.
Among the victims are three children, with another 75 people injured and 46 still missing, according to Ukrainian emergency services. So far, 39 individuals, including 14 children, have been rescued from the rubble.
President Volodymyr Zelensky previously mentioned that “dozens” of people, including a 3-year-old girl, were saved, despite extensive damage to most floors of the building from the strike. The attack on Saturday resulted in the destruction of 72 apartments and damage to over 230 others.
The Ukrainian Air Force identified the missile used as a Kh-22, the same type that targeted a busy shopping mall in central Ukraine last summer.
Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, stated that the Kh-22 was launched from a Tu-22M3 bomber stationed near Kursk and the Sea of Azov, with a total of five missiles fired.
The Kh-22, an older cruise missile, is noted for its lower accuracy compared to modern counterparts.
Earlier reports indicated at least 75 injuries from the attack, with 30 still hospitalized, including 12 in serious condition, among them a 9-year-old girl, according to Natalia Babachenko, an adviser to Mayor Reznichenko.
Moscow responded by attributing the destruction in Dnipro to counter-missiles and air defense measures. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted that Russian forces only target military sites, whether overt or camouflaged and not residential buildings.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, missiles and explosions were reported across Lviv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, and the northeast region of Kharkiv. Kyiv officials reported an “attack on the capital,” with blasts heard as early as 6 a.m. local time.
Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko indicated strikes hit the city’s east bank near critical power facilities, though exact locations remained unverified despite heavy fog.
Contradicting claims emerged from Ukrainian military sources, with commander Oleksandr Pavliuk asserting the explosions in Kyiv were unrelated to Russian attacks or military action, emphasizing that no air defense alarms had been triggered.
Despite Russia’s latest offensive, which aimed at disrupting Ukraine’s essential infrastructure, major attention focused on Soledar, where intense battles come to light despite the town’s limited strategic value.
Russia claimed control over Soledar, a move seen as symbolic by President Vladimir Putin, though Kyiv disputed these assertions.
In response to Ukraine’s urgent military needs, several Western nations, including France, Poland, and the United Kingdom, committed to supplying modern battle tanks.
Plans include sending Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems, with France contributing its AMX 10-RCs, and Poland preparing to dispatch Leopard tanks. Contributions to this report were made by CNN’s Julia Kesaieva, Josh Pennington, and Mariya Knight.