Ukraine war: as least 7 dead, including a child by Russian strikes on Zelensky’s hometown, people still trapped under rubble

Kryvyi Rih is the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Kremlin’s forces have occasionally targeted the city since they invaded Ukraine in February 2022

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian artillery strike on partially occupied Donetsk province killed two people and wounded six in the regional capital, according to Russian officials

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Damage from a missile that hit a multi-storey apartment building in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine on Monday. Ukrainian Interior Ministry Press Office via AP

Published: 7:00pm, 31 Jul 2023Updated: 8:20pm, 31 Jul 2023

Russia attacked southern Ukrainian cities again on Monday morning, killing at least seven civilians and injuring more than 50 others, according to local authorities in Kherson.

In the city of Kryvyi Rih, home to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, two Russian missiles hit a nine-storey apartment building and a university building.

The city’s military chief, Oleksandr Vilkul, spoke around noon of at least five dead – including a mother and her 10-year-old daughter – and more than 50 injured.

Local authorities believe that more people may be trapped under both buildings. The apartment building that was hit was partially burnt out and in particular danger of collapse, video footage showed.

Two missiles landed close to the centre of the city just after 9:00am (0600 GMT), interior minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram.

Emergency services work at a scene after a missile hits a multi-story apartment building in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, on Monday. Photo: Ukrainian Interior Ministry Press Office via AP

In the city of Kherson, which was liberated from occupation in October 2022, an employee of a municipal communal enterprise died on Monday morning as a result of Russian artillery fire, according to the local military administration. Two of his colleagues were injured.