Reuters:
DNIPRO, Ukraine, July 3 – A Russian missile and drone strike killed at least five people and wounded 34 more in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, urging the West to supply more air defences and long-range weapons.
Footage filmed by a scared onlooker and published by Zelenskiy on his Telegram messaging app showed a large explosion in the sky followed by a fireball shooting off towards the ground.
“Inside, everything is damaged, outside everything is also damaged. I’ve got jitters on my body, my hands … it’s all very complicated and scary,” Olha, the manager of a cafe that was hit, told Reuters.
She said some of her staff had been wounded and were concussed.
Georgyi, an elderly man with a bandaged nose and bloodied face told Reuters: “There was such a strong explosion that the wave hit me and I fell.”
Russia denies targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure. Thousands of civilians have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“This Russian terror can only be stopped by modern air defences and our long-ranged weapons,” Zelenkiy said. “The world can protect lives, and only the decisiveness of leaders is needed.”
Borys Filatov, the city’s mayor, announced a day of mourning for Thursday. He said on Telegram that the attack damaged kindergartens, schools and hospitals and caused fires across the city. Commercial buildings were also damaged, officials said.
