Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed when a Russian missile hit a theater in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Saturday morning, officials said.
The police said that 144 people were injured, including 15 children. At least 25 people were in hospital.
Among the victims were those who were celebrating the Orthodox Christian holiday in the church.
A central square and a university building were also damaged in the attack.
The United Nations described it as “heinous”, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi vowed a strong response to the “terrorist attack” by Ukrainian troops.
Chernihiv is located approximately 50 km (31 mi) south of Ukraine’s border with Belarus. It was besieged by Russian troops in the first few months of President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The imposing theater of the city was directly targeted. Tiles were blown off the roofs of neighboring buildings, starting a fire 100 meters away.
The acting mayor of Chernihiv told JEE News that the theater was hosting a gathering of drone makers.
“I think they were aiming for a military event in the drama theater building and that was their target,” Oleksandr Lomako said.
“But it’s clear that the Russians who launched these missiles and the people who ordered them into a civilian city in the middle of the day realized that the victims would be mainly civilians.
“There is no other way to interpret this except as a war crime against civilians, another Russian war crime,” he added.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko later said that all those inside the theater had managed to get to the shelter in time.
“Most of the victims were in their cars or crossing the road when the rocket hit, as well as returning from church,” he said.
Locals told JEE News that downtown Chernihiv is a popular area for people to hang out, especially at weekends.
Anna Zahriba, manager of a Crimean Tatar restaurant just across the street from the theater, said her staff was getting ready for a busy day when the missile hit.
“I ran out to see what was going on,” she said. “There were two 12-year-old girls and they were bleeding profusely. One had a badly injured leg. The other girl was screaming.
“We applied a tourniquet and waited for an ambulance. It was taking a long time to get here, but some guy stopped his car and we took a girl to the hospital.”
Anna says the staff rushed to help the injured with medical kits and blankets.
“There are always lots of people walking around with babies and toddlers running around. There are lots of restaurants and cafes in the area,” she tells us.
“We didn’t expect such a day.”
In a video address late Saturday, President Zelensky said the girl killed in the Russian attack was a girl named Sofia.
Earlier, he said Russia had turned a “normal week” into a “day of pain and loss.”
