Russian missile strike kills seven, Ukraine says

CHERNIHIV, Aug 19: Seven people including a six-year-old child were killed when a Russian missile struck the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, Ukraine's interior ministry said.

Twelve children were among 90 people wounded, the ministry said. The victims were on their way to church to celebrate a religious holiday when the missile hit, the ministry said.

A main square, a university building and a theatre have reportedly been damaged in the attack.

President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a short video showing damaged cars and the square littered with debris. One body could also be briefly seen.

Chernihiv is a city near the Belarus border. It was occupied by Russia at the beginning of the invasion but then recaptured by Ukrainian troops.

"A Russian missile hit right in the centre of the city, in our Chernihiv. A square, the polytechnic university, a theatre," President Zelensky posted on Telegram.

"An ordinary Saturday, which Russia turned into a day of pain and loss. There are dead, there are wounded," he added.

Elsewhere, Russia has claimed that a Ukrainian drone hit a military airfield in the northwest Novgorod region, causing a fire that was quickly put out.

One plane was damaged but no casualties have been reported, it added. Ukraine has not commented on the alleged drone attack.

Kyiv's air force said the Ukrainian military had shot down 15 out of 17 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Moscow in an overnight strike.

(BBC)