Russian attack on Ukrainian city kills at least 17 people

By Illia Novikov | Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Three Russian missiles struck the city center of the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Wednesday, hitting an eight-story apartment building and killing at least 17 people, authorities said.

At least 61 people, including three children, were injured in the early morning attack, Ukrainian emergency services said, as rescuers searched partially demolished buildings and tall piles of rubble. Chernihiv is about 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of the capital Kiev, close to the borders with Russia and Belarus, and has a population of around 250,000 people.

The latest Russian bombing occurred at a time when the war was already in its third year and approaching what could be a critical juncture. The lack of further military support from Ukraine’s Western partners leaves it increasingly at the mercy of the Kremlin’s larger forces.

During the winter months, Russia made no dramatic advances along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, focusing instead on warfare of attrition. However, shortages of artillery ammunition, troops and armored vehicles in Ukraine have allowed the Russians to advance gradually, military analysts say.

A crucial factor is Washington’s delay in approving an aid package that includes around $60 billion for Ukraine. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that he would try to move the package forward this week.

Ukraine’s need is pressing, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.

“The Russians are exiting positional warfare and beginning to restore battlefield maneuver due to delays in providing U.S. military assistance to Ukraine,” the ISW said in an assessment on Tuesday, adding that “only the U.S. can deliver quickly and at scale.”

Ukraine received good news on Wednesday from Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, who said his country had secured 500,000 artillery shells for Ukraine from countries outside the European Union. The first shells should be delivered in June.

The EU, made up of 27 countries, promised a year ago to send Ukraine 1 million artillery shells, but the bloc was unable to produce that many.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Western countries to provide more air defense equipment, including more Patriot guided surface-to-air missile systems. He said the attack on Chernihiv “would not have happened if Ukraine had received sufficient air defense equipment and if the world’s determination to combat Russian terrorism had also been sufficient.”

Zelenskyy told PBS in an interview broadcast earlier this week that Ukraine recently ran out of air defense missiles as it defended against a major missile and drone attack that destroyed one of Ukraine’s largest power plants, part of a recent Russian campaign aimed at energy infrastructure.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba echoed Zelenskyy’s call as he prepared to attend a meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers in Italy.

“We need at least seven more Patriot batteries to protect our cities and economic centers from destruction,” Kuleba told German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung in an interview published Wednesday. “Why is it so hard to find seven Patriot batteries?”

Ukrainian forces are digging in, building fortifications in anticipation of a major Russian offensive that Kiev officials say could come as early as next month.

Ukraine is using long-range drone and missile strikes behind Russian lines designed to disrupt Moscow’s war machine.