New attacks from Russia have killed at least 19 people in Ukraine. For the first time in almost two months, the Russians again carried out large-scale missile attacks on the country. For example, Uman, Dnipro and Kyiv came under fire.
Two cruise missiles hit Uman, a city in the center of the country. One of these slammed into a nine-story apartment building, killing at least 17 people. Among them, according to the Ukrainian authorities, are at least three children: two 10-year-olds and a toddler. Emergency services are still searching for survivors.
Dutch farmer Kees Huizinga lives near Oeman and woke up around 04:00 last night from Ukrainian aircraft and anti-aircraft fighter jets flying over. “At 4.30 am I heard two explosions in the distance. It soon became clear that two rockets had landed in Oeman. One on a nine-storey apartment building,” says Huizinga.
‘Shaken awake’
Four of his employees live nearby, so Huizinga hurried to the site of the attack, where everything was in ruins. Huizinga: “Windows were broken and one of our cars is broken, but that’s not so bad. People have died. Not that I’m getting any more scared, but that’s how it comes very close.”
The city of Uman is about 500 kilometers from the front line, he says matter-of-factly. He is surprised that there has now been an attack near him.
This resident is in tears after the attack in Uman:
“There is nothing strategic in the area here, you would rather expect it in cities such as Kyiv, Dnipro and Odesa. And not such a provincial town as Uman,” says Huizinga. “At the very beginning of the war there was an attack on an ammunition depot here, but not since. For us, the war was always far away, but now everyone around here has also been awakened to the fact that it is really bad. I still believe in statistics, so the chance of me getting hit is pretty slim.”
It was not only in Uman that it was hit today: in the eastern city of Dnipro, according to the governor of that region, a 31-year-old woman and her 2-year-old daughter were killed after an attack.
Kyiv has also come under fire again. The last attack on the capital dated back to March 9. Several explosions were heard in the city, but no targets were known to be hit. No casualties have been reported in the capital.
Watch the images of Uman, Dnipro and Kyiv after the Russian attacks below.
The large-scale attacks have once again put tensions in the war with Russia on edge. According to Defense Minister Reznikov, Ukraine is almost ready to launch the long-awaited counter-offensive against the Russians.
The armed forces are finalizing their final preparations, he said in a briefing. “As soon as God willing, the right weather and the decision of the commanders are there, we will do it.”
Kyiv has been planning an offensive for months to drive back Russian troops in southern and eastern Ukraine. Military analysts expect a major counter-attack to take place in May or June, depending on the weather and Western arms supplies.
At the same time, Russia has been preparing extensively for that expected spring offensive, according to an analysis of satellite images from the Russian side of the battlefield.
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