A Russian rocket hit the regional administration building in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv on Tuesday (March 29), killing at least three people and wounding 22, local authorities said.
Surveillance footage said to be filmed from the Mykolaiv regional state administration building showed a large plume of smoke after the missile impact. The footage matched landmarks seen from publicly-available satellite imagery of the local shipyard and a local bridge, as well as third-party drone images taken from before the war.
Also read | International accord needed to guarantee security, say Ukrainian negotiators
Eighteen of the wounded were pulled from the rubble by rescue workers, who continue to work at the scene, the emergencies service said in an online post.
An image shared by local governor Vitaliy Kim showed a large hole in the side of the building. On Tuesday, Reuters witnesses saw the destruction from a distance and ambulances and fire engines heading to the scene. The area was cordoned off.
Russian forces have attacked Ukraine’s southern ports including Kherson, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Mariupol as they try to cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea and establish a land corridor from Russia to Crimea, the peninsula Russia seized in 2014.
Also read | Wiping off the blood: To oppose Ukraine war, Russians adopt new national flag
Kim said there was an upside to the strike – it suggested Russia had given up trying to take over the city.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special military operation” to disarm its neighbour. It denies targeting civilians and did not comment on the strike on Mykolaiv.
Watch | Gravitas: Zelensky opens the door for neutrality in peace talks
