Russian missile hits Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine, at least 17 dead
Officials say the deadly attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, could be retaliation following the blast that damaged a bridge in Crimea.
Patrick Colson-Price, USA TODAY
Russia launched multiple missile attacks into the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia overnight, killing at least 12 people and wounding dozens in an apparent reprisal for a blast that damaged a Crimean bridge, authorities said Sunday.
The missile strikes caused one high-rise apartment building to partially collapse and blew out windows in adjacent buildings. The attacks came hours after an explosion Saturday caused the partial collapse of a bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula with Russia, damaging an important supply artery for the Kremlin’s war effort.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, responding to the Russian barrage, said Ukraine “urgently needs more modern air and missile defense systems” to protects its cities.
“Russia continues its missile terror against civilians in Zaporizhzhia,” Kuleba said. “I urge partners to speed up deliveries.”
City council initially said 17 had died, but later revised the number to 12. Countil Secretary Anatoliy Kurtev said rockets damaged at least 20 private homes and dozens of apartment buildings in Zaporizhzhia, in a region President Vladimir Putin has claimed for Russia.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack on civilians an “absolute evil” and the Russians “savages and terrorists.”
Russian authorities had warned of reprisals after the attack on the 12-mile, $3.6 billion Kerch Bridge, a symbol of Moscow’s claim to Crimea. Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and it has become a popular destination for Russian tourists.
Other developments:
►Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree tightening security for the Crimean bridge and for energy infrastructure between Crimea and Russia. He put Russia’s federal security service, the FSB, in charge of the effort.
►Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that air force Gen. Sergei Surovikin would now command all Russian troops in Ukraine. Surovikin, who already was in charge of troops in southern Ukraine, had led Russian forces in Syria and was accused of overseeing a bombardment that destroyed much of Aleppo.
GRAPHICS: Mapping and tracking Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
NUCLEAR ARMAGEDDON? Biden cites highest risk since 1962
Criticism of the war effort is growing in Russia, with vocal critics including Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and private military company owner Yevgeny Prigozhin, as well as state-approved TV presenters, pop stars and “an increasingly vocal community of ultra-nationalistic military bloggers,” the British Defense Ministry said in its latest assessment.
The criticism remains focused on the Russian military command rather than political leadership, the ministry said. But the assessment says the trend of public voicing of dissent against the Russian establishment is being at least partly tolerated and “will likely be hard to reverse.”
Residents of Enerhodar, home to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, have been living without electricity and gas for three days, Mayor Dmytro Orlov said Sunday. He said some locals used open fires next to their homes to cook food and boil water.
Orlov blamed constant shelling by Russia for preventing service workers from restoring utilities – and warned locals to stay cautious when collecting firewood in areas likely to be riddled with landmines. About half of the 50,000 resident fled when Russian troops seized the city.
The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency said the nuclear plant’s link to a 750-kilovolt line was cut by bombings Saturday. All six reactors at Europe’s biggest nuclear plant are shut down but they still require electricity for cooling and other safety functions, now being supplied by emergency diesel generators.
President Joe Biden’s warning last week that the risk of nuclear “Armageddon” is at the highest level since the 1962 was “concerning” but not productive toward ending the war in Ukraine, retired Adm. Mike Mullen said Sunday. Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and principal military adviser to President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, said on ABC’s “This Week” that Biden’s warning was “about at the top of the language scale.”
“I think we need to back off that a little bit and do everything we possibly can to try to get to the table to resolve this thing,” Mullen said. “It’s got to end and usually there are negotiations associated with that.”
Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Putin is a “cornered animal … unpredictable, unstable.” But he also said Biden should be “more cautious” with his rhetoric.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine have liberated more than 50 towns and almost 500 square miles in the occupied Kherson region and is closing in on the Russian-held city, Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Enin said Sunday. The region is one of four Russia claimed to annex after bogus referendums conducted at gunpoint that the Kremlin said drew overwhelming support for joining Russia.
“Little by little, step by step, the Kherson region, our lands are free from invaders,” Enin said. Ukraine officials say they also are making inroads in the other three regions seized by Russia, including the Luhansk and Dontesk regions that make up the industrial Donbas. The Donbas has been the primary focus of Russian troops since retreating from the Kyiv area in the early days of the war.
Slovakian Defense Minister Jaro Nad said Sunday that Bratislava had delivered two self-propelled, Zuzana 2 howitzers to support Ukraine’s effort to turn back the Russian invasion. The neighbor of Ukraine has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters, with previous donations that included a Soviet-era S-300 air defense system, military helicopters and thousands of multiple-rocket launcher rockets.
Nad suggested the latest offerings were actually a gift for Putin, who turned 70 on Friday.
“To mark his 70th birthday, we delivered yet another gift to aggressor Putin. Another two new #Zuzana2 howitzers are now in(and much more to come),” Nad tweeted.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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