ZELENSKIY VOWS TO RETALIATE OVER CHERNIHIV ATTACK

Sun 20 August 2023:

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has vowed to hit back after seven people including a six-year-old girl were killed and 144 wounded in a Russian missile strike on a central square in the historic northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Saturday.

The Ukrainian president said: “I am sure our soldiers will give a response to Russia for this terrorist attack. A notable response.”

Reuters reports that Zelenskiy also said in his nightly video address, delivered early on Sunday at the end of a visit to Sweden, that of the 144 people injured, 15 were children, and named the girl killed as Sofia.

Chernihiv. The aftermath of the russian attack.#ChernihivTheatre pic.twitter.com/QJcI21l249

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Fifteen others injured were police officers, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said on the Telegram messaging app. Most of the victims were in vehicles, crossing the road or returning from church, he said.

Regional governor Viacheslav Chaus said 41 people were in hospital on Saturday.

Zelenskiy said the attack on Chernihiv, about 145km (90 miles) north of Kyiv, coincided with the Orthodox holiday of the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. People leaving church and others passing by were among those hurt when the missile hit a theatre where a meeting was taking place, Chaus said.

Law enforcement agencies were looking into how Russians became aware of the event, which Chaus said included business and community representatives but Ukrainian media reported involved drone manufacturers.

About 500,000 killed or injured in war in Ukraine so far

Nearly half a million soldiers on both sides may have been killed or wounded in the Ukraine war, according to a report by the New York Times on Friday, which quoted US government officials.

At the same time, they warned that casualties were difficult to estimate because Kiev does not publish figures and Moscow is suspected of underreporting deaths and injuries.

According to the report, the unnamed US officials estimate that there have been 120,000 soldiers killed and 170,000 to 180,000 wounded on the Russian side. For Ukraine, they say around 70,000 soldiers have died and 100,000 to 120,000 have been wounded since the beginning of the Russian invasion around 18 months ago.

These figures could not be independently verified.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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