KYIV (Reuters) – At least 13 people were wounded in Russian attacks on Ukraine on Thursday, local officials said, as Kyiv marked 32 years of independence from Moscow.
A Russian missile strike wounded 10 people in the central city of Dnipro and three people, including a child, were hurt in an attack on the southern city of Kherson.
Three of the victims in Dnipro were in hospital with moderate wounds, regional governor Serhiy Lysak reported, and a transport facility was damaged.
More than 10 other buildings including a bank, a hotel and an administrative building were damaged, he said.
Photos posted by Lysak on the Telegram messaging app showed a partially destroyed building where people were clearing out broken glass and a twisted metal structure.
“The photo shows the only thing the ‘Russian world’ is capable of. Destroying everything it touches,” he said.
A seven-year-old girl was injured in Russian shelling of the centre of Kherson, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.
Ukraine’s general prosecutor’s office said two other people were wounded when one of the shells hit a roof of a private house, and posted a photo online showing a partially destroyed building with a gaping hole in one side.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
Russia has regularly carried out strikes on Ukrainian centres far from the front line though it denies deliberately targeting civilians.
Thursday was a national holiday commemorating post-Soviet independence. The anniversary fell exactly 18 months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour.
In a pre-recorded address, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked the Ukrainian people for their “indomitability” and said each individual had a role to play.
“When we celebrate Ukraine’s independence, everyone can feel a part of it,” he said. “And today I want to dedicate these congratulations to you. To you, who is giving Ukraine its independence.”
(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; additional reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; editing by Robert Birsel and Timothy Heritage)
