A missile fired by Russia struck a hotel in Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine, late Wednesday night, resulting in four fatalities and injuring 31 individuals. Rescue workers continued their search efforts on Thursday morning, hoping to locate anyone who might still be trapped beneath the debris, authorities reported.
A team of volunteers from humanitarian organizations, including individuals from Ukraine, the United States, and Britain, had just arrived at the hotel when the missile hit. Fortunately, they managed to find shelter in time and survived the strike, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Unfortunately, four people were killed in the attack,” he stated in a Telegram post. “We must not pause in putting pressure on Russia to stop this war and terror against life.”
Among the 31 people injured, 14 were reported to be in critical condition, according to Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Ukraine’s Emergency Services also shared an update on Telegram, revealing that 19 people had been pulled from the wreckage of the hotel.
Photographs posted by the emergency teams showed responders navigating the destruction outside the illuminated five-story structure, using ladders to climb up and down through the remains of the building.
Thick smoke rose from the upper floors of the hotel, with most of its windows shattered from the explosion.
A crane was brought in to assist in reaching the upper floors of the damaged structure.
Beyond the hotel, other buildings were also impacted by the strike. Fourteen residential buildings, a post office, and a dozen shops sustained damage, the governor confirmed.
The Ukrainian military reported that Russia had launched two ballistic missiles and deployed 112 drones against Ukraine overnight.
Additionally, drone strikes targeted energy facilities in the southern Odesa region, leaving two people wounded, the regional governor reported.
In the northeastern city of Sumy, a drone strike killed one person and caused destruction to a storage facility belonging to a private company, according to local prosecutors.
Kryvyi Rih, which is the hometown of President Zelensky, has faced repeated attacks since Russia began its large-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
{Matzav.com}