Dozens Dead After 20 Cruise Missiles Strike Ukraine On Friday – Russian forces killed at least 23 people on Friday when over 20 cruise missiles were fired at Kyiv and other urban areas throughout Ukraine.
The strikes, which also included two drone strikes, took place early on Friday.
Virtually all of the deaths occurred when one residential building in the central city of Uman collapsed due to the strikes.
Footage from the scene showed the building left partially standing, with one side completely collapsed.
According to The Associated Press, at least 17 people were killed in that strike alone, including one toddler and two ten-year-old children.
Footage from the strike in Uman shared online showed local people walking through rubble as a fire rages and both dust and smoke can be seen billowing out of the building.
According to the Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny, Ukrainian air defenses were able to shoot down 21 incoming cruise missiles out of 23 total.
The two cruise missiles that did reach their intended targets struck the cities of Uman and Dnipro.
This week’s missile bombardments targeted urban population centers, with not one missile coming close to the front lines anywhere in the country.
However, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that the cruise missiles were targeted at Ukrainian military reserve units.
Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov claimed that the strike “achieved its goal” of hitting all “designated facilities.”
Konashenkov did not, however, provide any information about which buildings were targeted and why residential buildings were destroyed in the process.
The capital city of Kyiv also came under attack for the first time in roughly two months, though no casualties occurred in the city.
Ukrainian forces successfully downed 11 missiles and two drones that were aimed at the city.
Russian cruise missile hit high-rise residential building in Uman. At least 3 people killed, 8 wounded.
Woman and a three-year-old child killed in Dnipro.
Russia attacked Ukraine with wave of cruise missile after midnight. 21 out of 23 shot down. Including 11 over Kyiv. pic.twitter.com/n6r11atL0V
— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) April 28, 2023
Perhaps one of the most disturbing videos of the incident to have emerged online shows a young Ukrainian woman with blood on her hands and face recording herself and her apartment. The woman shows blood on the floor of her apartment building, smashed windows and doors, and broken glass on the floor.
As the woman walks through the apartment, the scale of the damage becomes increasingly evident, and she eventually offers a look through the window at a fire raging outside.
Video footage recorded from outside of the apartment building also shows the structure still engulfed in flames hours after the strike occurred.
In response to the strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a statement condemning Russia’s actions, noting that the city is “absolutely peaceful” and known for “hosting tens of thousands of Hasidic pilgrims every year.”
“Only absolute evil can unleash such terror against [Ukraine],” Zelenskyy said.
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He 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.
