Ukraine War Update: Bodies were discovered dead under the rubble of the collapsed Mykolaiv regional state administration building in Ukraine on Tuesday after a Russian missile hit the building, according to local reports.
At 1:30pm local time, seven dead bodies had been uncovered at the site of the rocket attack, and a further 22 people were reported injured. A total of 18 people were also rescued from the building and transported away from the scene by teams of medics.
Missile strikes targeted at the government building began at 8:45amon Tuesday, resulting in the near-total destruction of the nine-story government building. Most of the damage was done to the central section of the building, from the 8th floor to the ground floor.
Vitaly Kim, who is the head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, announced the strike on Facebook.
“They have hit the regional administration building, destroyed half of the building, and my office has been hit,” Kim said, including a photograph of the destroyed building.
As shelling of the area began on Tuesday morning, Kim also said Russian troops hit a residential building after most people had left to go to work. You can see the moment the missile strikes below.
Why Russian Troops Targeted the Area
Kim speculated that the sudden attack suggests that Russian troops are abandoning their ground offensive in Mykolaiv, a city in the south of Ukraine. The city is a major transportation hub for the country, with a sea port, a river port, major highways and railways, an airport, and a commercial port.
It comes as Russian troops reposition themselves across Ukraine.
The head of the regional administration also suggested that the attack was conducted by Russian troops who had flown from Crimea to Mykolaiv.
“Enemy aircraft have flown from Crimea to Mykolaiv. The number is unknown. Will be operating at very low altitudes. Everyone take cover,” Kim said at 10:15 am yesterday.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also shared images of the destroyed building on Twitter.
“Grozny, Chechnya in 2000 and Muykolaiv, Ukraine today,” the post reads, sharing an eerily similar photograph from Chechnya over 20 years ago. “If evil goes unpunished once, it returns 100 times worse. #StopRussianAggression.”
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
