At least 23 people, including four children, were killed and at least 18 others were injured in a wave of Russian missile attacks in central Ukraine on Friday. The death toll will likely continue to rise, officials said, and rescuers are still searching for missing children thought to be under the rubble of a struck apartment building in Uman.
There were 46 apartments inside one of the buildings that were hit, of which 27 were completely destroyed, according to the Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko. The strike – by a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile – is thought to have caused the highest number of civilian casualties in a single incident since a missile struck an apartment block in Dnipro in January.
President Volodymyr Zelensky offered condolences to the victims’ families and said the missile attacks underlined the country’s need for modern military aircraft.
If you’re just now catching up, here are other headlines you should know:
Ukrainian shelling: The self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic said nine people were killed in shelling by Ukrainian forces in the city of Donetsk. CNN cannot confirm the reported casualties, but unofficial Telegram channels published video and photos of extensive damage in several areas of the city.
Deported children: Zelensky says he appealed to his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, this week for help returning Ukrainian children who were deported by Russia.
Denied visit request: The US State Department said it was “deeply disappointed” that its request to visit detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in May was denied. The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday said it rejected the request in response to Washington’s denial of visas to Russian reporters accompanying Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to the United Nations this week.
Call for training on military jets: Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reiterated the country’s call for F-16 fighter jet training from allies in a meeting with foreign ministers from eight countries on Thursday. Getting military training on how to maneuver the aircraft could be the first step in the country gaining access to the jets, Kuleba said.
Visit by Czech Republic and Slovak leaders: The presidents of the Czech Republic and Slovakia visited Ukraine on Friday, their first joint visit abroad, Slovakian President Zuzana Čaputová said in a tweet on Friday. Čaputová said the visit is intended to bring “a message of friendship, solidarity & support,” noting that the three countries “share parts of common history.”
Grain import ban: Zelensky called out the “destructive” impact of bans on Ukrainian grain imposed by several European countries – on the grounds that the imports were undercutting the other nations’ domestic prices. He said Friday he had discussed the issue with the President of the EU Council, Charles Michel.
Putin’s decree: President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Thursday that allows the deportation of Ukrainian citizens from the territories declared annexed by Russia if they are considered a “national security threat.”
