A Russian strike tore right into a nine-story condominium constructing within the metropolis of Dnipro in central Ukraine, native officers stated, killing not less than 14 folks, together with a 15-year-old lady. Scores have been injured.

An enormous fireplace burned within the aftermath of the strike, which left a gaping gap within the residential constructing. A lot of the condominium block was decreased to smoldering rubble, and officers stated folks have been trapped within the particles. A rescue operation was underway, with numerous fireplace vans and emergency staff on the scene.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine stated that each flooring of the constructing had been “smashed” by the explosion from a missile.

“It’s not but recognized how many individuals are below the rubble,” he stated in his nightly deal with. “Sadly, the dying toll is rising each hour.”

A minimum of 64 folks have been injured, together with 14 youngsters, the pinnacle of the Ukrainian navy administration for the area, Valentyn Reznichenko, stated in a put up on the Telegram messaging app. He stated that rescuers have been working to succeed in folks nonetheless trapped, including that greater than three dozen had been pulled from below the rubble.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Pressure Command, Yuri Ignat, informed an area information outlet, Ukrainska Pravda, that the condominium constructing had been hit with a Kh-22 missile fired from a Russian bomber, a strong weapon designed to sink air craft carriers.

As darkness fell, smoke continued to billow over an enormous pile of rubble. One lady stood by a tree, crying, saying she thought her daughter was within the constructing.

Residents of town had turned out in numbers to assist take away burned out vehicles and particles from in entrance of the constructing to clear the trail for fireplace vans and rescuers to return in and lift their ladders.

At one level, an order was given for all automobile engines to be turned off so the rescuers may pay attention for the sounds of individuals trapped below the rubble.

Rescuers on cranes have been being guided by the cellphones and flashlights of these trapped, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s workplace, stated in a Telegram put up. He shared a photograph of an individual holding a lightweight within the window of a broken higher story, the place the entire face of the constructing had been shorn off.

Earlier than issuing his nightly deal with, Mr. Zelensky had referred to as the strike “evil” and posted a picture of the rescue operation.

“We’re combating for each particular person, each life,” he stated in a Telegram put up.

The United Nations resident coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, referred to as the pictures popping out of Dnipro “horrifying.”

“Dozens of civilians, together with youngsters, killed or injured whereas of their houses,” she wrote on Twitter, including: “Intentional assaults in opposition to civilians is a struggle crime.”