Seven killed, 90 injured after Russian missile hits central square in Ukraine’s Chernihiv

Chernihiv [Ukraine], August 19 (ANI): At least seven people including a six-year-old girl died and 90 others were injured after a Russian missile hit a central square in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, Ukrainian officials said, CNN reported.
Saturday’s strike, in a city close to the Russian border and far from the frontlines, hit a theatre and a university.
Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko said the girl killed died from her injuries in hospital.
“Her mother is in grave condition. The police officers provided first aid to the girl. Unfortunately, doctors were unable to save her upon arrival at the hospital due to heavy blood loss,” he added.
Klymenko said the strike happened while people were leaving the church with “baskets of blessed apples.” Saturday is a major holiday in the Orthodox calendar: for The Feast of the Transfiguration, apples and honey are consecrated in churches, as per CNN
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack turned “an ordinary Saturday… into a day of pain and loss.”
“A Russian missile hit right in the centre of the city, in our Chernihiv. A square, the polytechnic university, a theater,” he said.
Oleksandr Lomako, acting mayor of Chernihiv city, told national TV: “There is a park right behind the drama theatre, many children and their parents usually spend time there. There are numerous restaurants with outdoor terraces located nearby as well. It all happened in the middle of the day when obviously there are many people in the city centre.
“This crime cannot be interpreted except as a war crime against civilians.”
Chernihiv, prior to the outbreak of war, was a vibrant city of 300,000 people. Now, many parts of it have turned to wasteland amid repeated Russian bombardment.
The city came under siege from Russian forces at the start of the invasion in March 2022 and was cut off from electricity and running water. Russian troops began withdrawing from the region later that month, although shelling of Chernihiv continued.
Following the siege, the city’s mayor described Chernihiv as about 70 per cent destroyed. (ANI)