The incident occurred just after 9 am local time, with the missiles tearing through an eight-story residential building. The city's acting mayor, Oleksandr Lomako, confirmed the timing of the attack.
Emergency service workers were seen in footage, working tirelessly to rescue civilians trapped under the rubble of the demolished building. Ukrainian emergency services reported that the morning attack resulted in at least 61 injuries, including two children.
Chernihiv, a city with a population of approximately 250,000, is situated about 90 miles north of the capital, Kyiv, near the border with Russia and Belarus. The casualties of the attack included a 25-year-old police lieutenant and a woman who was on sick leave in a nearby house, as stated by Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko.
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In the wake of a recent Russian double-tap strike in Kharkiv, northeast Ukraine, where a second missile targeted emergency workers responding to the initial explosion, Klymenko urged Chernihiv residents to exercise caution when sharing information about the attack. He emphasized the importance of not jeopardizing the safety of emergency workers attempting to rescue victims.
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The missile attack in Chernihiv marked another challenging day for Ukrainians, who have been observing their allies, including the UK and U.S., defend Israel against an Iranian attack over the weekend, while denying further support to Ukraine.
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Ukraine's top diplomat, Dmytro Kuleba, expressed his frustration, stating, "These innocent people would not have been killed or injured if Ukraine had sufficient air defense capabilities." He pointed out the contrast between the effective missile defense witnessed in the Middle East and the situation in Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, without directly referencing the Middle East conflict, suggested that the attack could have been averted "if the world determination to counter Russian terror had been sufficient". He emphasized the importance of determination and support in combating terror and saving lives.
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The lack of air defenses in Ukraine is largely due to a delay in Washington, where supporters of Donald Trump in the Republican-controlled lower chamber of Congress have stalled a $60 billion military aid package to Ukraine, initially proposed in October.
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Mike Johnson, the House Speaker and leading opponent of the aid package, stated on Sunday that he would attempt to advance the package this week. However, this is not the first time such a promise has been made.
The delay in aid comes as the mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, warns that the city risks becoming "a second Aleppo" if the U.S. does not expedite the aid package. Kharkiv, located approximately 30 miles from the Russian border, has been one of the hardest-hit cities in Russia's recent long-range attacks targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
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Mayor Ihor Terekhov stated that Russia is attempting to obliterate the city's power supply, having already destroyed two major power plants east of the city and all its substations in a massive attack on March 22. He emphasized the critical importance of the U.S. weapons package, stating, "We need that support to prevent Kharkiv from becoming a second Aleppo," referring to the Syrian city heavily bombed by Russian and Syrian government forces during the country's civil war a decade ago.
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Power in Kharkiv was disrupted following another bombing raid this week, leading to a brief halt of the metro. Residents report being fortunate to have more than a few hours of electricity a day in the city center. Terekhov expressed concerns that Russia could soon target gas distribution after storage facilities in the west were attacked last week.
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