The Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, accused Russia this Friday of state terrorism, blaming it for a missile attack on a southern town where he left 16 dead and dozens injured.
The missiles hit an apartment building and a recreation center in the town of Sergiyvka, 80 km south of the port of Odessa, which became a strategic focus of the war for more than four months.
Between The dead included a 12-year-old boy, Zelensky said in his daily message to the country. He added that some 40 people were injured and that the death toll could rise.
“I emphasize: this is an act of deliberate, intentional Russian terrorism, and not some mistake or accidental missile attack,” Zelensky assured.
“Three missiles hit a nine-story apartment building in which no one was hiding weapons or military equipment ”, he added. “Common people, civilians, lived there.”
The emergency services specified that 16 people died in the building and five in the recreation center and that both attacks left at least 39 injured.
Accession to the European Union
Sergei Brachuk, deputy district chief of Odessa, indicated that the incursion was carried out by two planes from the Black Sea, which fired “very heavy and very powerful” missiles.
Germany called the attacks “inhuman”, which occurred a few hours after the heads of state and government of NATO reaffirmed in Madrid their support for Ukraine.
“This shows us once again, in a cruel way, that the Russian aggressor deliberately accepts the death of civilians”, declared the spokesman for the German government, Steffen Hebestreit.
The Black Sea has been the scene of fierce battles since the beginning of the Russian invasion, on 24 February.
Zelensky celebrated a “new” chapter of “history”, after Ukraine was admitted as a candidate to join the European Union (EU).
“Our road to accession should not last decades. We should go down this path quickly”, declared the president before the Ukrainian Parliament.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that accession was “within reach”, but urged Ukraine to push ahead with anti-corruption reforms.
2022