dpa
Kiev
At least three people have been killed and 14 injured in a Russian missile attack on the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya, regional Governor Ivan Fedorov announced on Tuesday.
The attack was carried out in the city centre, Fedorov wrote on Telegram.
According to a Ukrainian public radio report, a private hospital was damaged in the strike, and more victims are suspected to be buried under the rubble.
The report said that the Russian military had used ballistic missiles in the attack.
Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for more than two and a half years Zaporizhzhya is located close to the front line between Russian and Ukrainian troops.
Meanwhile, a vehicle belonging to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was severely damaged in a drone attack on the road to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant on Tuesday, IAEA head Rafael Grossi said.
The IAEA has experts stationed permanently at the Russian-occupied power plant, which is close to the front line, to monitor the situation.
The teams are regularly replaced. The drone attack occurred during the latest rotation. “As director general of the IAEA, I condemn in the most firm terms this attack on the IAEA staff,” Grossi said in a video statement posted on X.
“Attacking a nuclear power plant is a no-go. Attacking those who care for the nuclear safety and security of these plants is even more unacceptable,” Grossi added, calling for “utmost restraint.” Russia launched a series of attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure at the end of November. The IAEA warned that this jeopardized the security of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, whose cooling systems depend on a reliable power supply.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued orders to increase funding for equipping Ukraine’s brigades with new drones. “We recently approved a decision about the amount of such direct funds. But now I see that the amount is insufficient,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.
