By David Young-
Russian missiles have been launched against a Ukranian city, far from the eastern frontline, killing at least 23 people including three children, Ukrainian officials say.
In what has been condemned as an open act of terror, over 100 were reported injured in the attack in Vinnytsia, which is south-west of Kyiv , a far distance from the heart of the fighting in Donbas.
The desperately wicked attack authorised by Putin’s murderous regime, continues to raise alarm about the sheer level of callousness shown in a war which shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
In a comment on Twitter, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of committing “another war crime”.
“We will put Russian war criminals on trial for every drop of Ukrainian blood and tears,” he wrote.
Three Russian missiles hit an office block and damaged residential buildings.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it “an open act of terrorism”.
The Ukraine president said in a statement on social media: “Every day, Russia kills civilians, kills Ukrainian children, carries out missile attacks on civilian facilities where there is no military target. What is this if not an open act of terrorism?”
The Russian missiles apparently targeted civilian buildings and a cultural centre in the city of Vinnytsia, which is in central Ukraine. Reports have claimed that the attack took place when the streets of streets were full of people. As per the Ukrainian emergency service, search and rescue operations are on and around 46 people are still missing
The missiles hit the car park of the nine-storey office block at around 10:50 (07:50 GMT), Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said. Residential buildings were also hit in the centre of Vinnytsia, which has a population of around 370,000. The Russian defence ministry has denied attacking civilians.
Earlier today, the Ukrainian government lobbied the United States to supply it with longer-range missiles for the HIMARS rocket launchers, after targeting Russian military depots and claiming it killed a general with the US-supplied weapon.
The Ukrainian army only has missiles with a range of 70km for the HIMARS launcher, though ones with ranges of up to 300-500km are available.
Kyiv currently uses the less precise Tochka-U missiles, which have a range of up to 120km, for its longer-range strikes.
Major General Artem Nasbulin of Russia was killed in the Kherson region by High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) missiles, Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson for the Odesa regional administration spokesperson, said on Telegram on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian presidency said the attack had come from Kalibr cruise missiles. launched from a submarine in the Black Sea.
Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs confirmed that several dozens where detained , adding that they were being interrogated by the police and Ukraine’s security service.
A senior regional emergency service official told local TV that there was “probably no chance of finding anyone who survived” the attack.
“Every day, Russia kills civilians, kills Ukrainian children, carries out missile attacks on the civilian facilities where there is no military target. What is this, if not an open act of terrorism?” Mr Zelensky said in a statement on social media.
Ukrainian officials said one of the three children who died in the attack was a young girl called Liza, who was returning from a speech therapy session with her mother when the rocket strike hit.
Social media footage reposted by Ukraine’s defence ministry appeared to show Liza pushing a pink pram as she walked alongside her mother earlier in the day.
A pram that resembled the little girl’s was later photographed on its side outside the building hit by the rocket strike. Other images showed what appeared to be the same pram with a child’s body lying beside it.