Seven dead in strike on government office in Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv

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Image source, Reuters

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President Zelensky said the people of Mykolaiv posed no threat to Russia, but still had "become the targets of Russian troops, rockets, air bombs, grenades, mines"

A Russian strike on a government building in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv has killed seven people and injured more than 20 others, President Volodmyr Zelensky has said.

A rocket tore a hole through the nine-storey building shortly before 09:00 local (06:00 GMT) on Tuesday morning.

Authorities are still searching for more survivors in the rubble.

The attack destroyed the office of the regional governor, Vitaliy Kim, who was not there at the time.

The building also houses the offices of the Mykolaiv regional state government.

Emergency services say 22 people were also wounded.

In a video address to the Danish Parliament, Mr Zelensky condemned the attack: "There were no military targets in Mykolaiv. The people of Mykolaiv posed no threat to Russia. And despite this, like all Ukrainians, they became the targets of Russian troops, rockets, air bombs, grenades, mines."

Image source, Reuters

Image caption,

Ukrainian rescue services say they have so far pulled 18 survivors out from the rubble

Mr Kim accused the Russian forces of waiting until people arrived for work in the morning before targeting the site.

"I had overslept. But - I got lucky," he said. "The majority escaped miraculously, I don't know how."

The governor added that an upside to the strike if it existed was that it suggested Russia had given up trying to take over the city.

For several weeks, Ukrainian forces have repelled Russian attempts to seize the southern port city, blocking Russia's advance west along the Black Sea coast.

Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Harding earlier this month, Mr Kim said Russian forces had underestimated the city's resistance, expecting "to be greeted with flowers".

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