Seven dead including six-year-old girl as Russian missile hits center of Ukraine’s Chernihiv city

At least seven people died including a six-year-old girl and 90 others were injured after a Russian missile strike hit a central square in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, Ukrainian officials said.

Saturday’s strike – in a city close to the Russian border and far from the frontlines – hit a theater and a university, CNN reports.

The girl killed died from her injuries in hospital, Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko said.

“Her mother is in grave condition. The police officers provided first aid to the girl. Unfortunately, doctors were unable to save her upon arrival at the hospital due to a heavy blood loss,” he added.

Klymenko said the strike happened while people were leaving church with “baskets of blessed apples.” Saturday is a major holiday in the Orthodox calendar: for The Feast of the Transfiguration, apples and honey are consecrated in churches.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack turned “an ordinary Saturday… into a day of pain and loss.”

“A Russian missile hit right in the center of the city, in our Chernihiv. A square, the polytechnic university, a theater.”

Oleksandr Lomako, acting mayor of Chernihiv city, told national TV: “There is a park right behind the drama theater, many children and their parents usually spend time there. There are numerous restaurants with outdoor terraces located nearby as well. It all happened in the middle of the day when obviously there are many people in the city center.

“This crime cannot be interpreted except as a war crime against civilians.”

Prior to the outbreak of war, Chernihiv was a vibrant city of 300,000 people. Now, many parts of it have turned to wasteland amid repeated Russian bombardment.

The city came under siege from Russian forces at the start of the invasion in March 2022, and was cut off from electricity and running water. Russia troops began withdrawing from the region later that month, although shelling of Chernihiv continued.

Following the siege, the city’s mayor described Chernihiv as about 70% destroyed.