Russian missile attack in southern Ukraine has killed at least 13 civilians

A daytime Russian missile attack on the southern Ukraine city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least 13 civilians and wounded about 30 others on Wednesday officials said Footage posted on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys Telegram channel shows civilians lying in a city street littered with debris The post shows them being treated by emergency services and taken away on gurneysRussian has frequently launched aerial attacks on civilian areas during the almost threeyear war Thousands of civilians have been killed in Europes biggest conflict since World War II Zelenskyy and regional Gov Ivan Fedorov said Wednesdays attack killed at least 13 civilians Minutes before the attack Fedorov had warned of a threat of highspeed missiles and devastating glide bombs being fired at the Zaporizhzhia regionRussian troops started launching the glide bombs at Zaporizhzhia in the middle of the afternoon and at least two bombs struck residential buildings in the city Fedorov said He announced that Thursday would be a day of mourning in the region There is nothing more brutal than aerial bombing of a city knowing that ordinary civilians will suffer Zelenskyy wrote on TelegramZelenskyy said earlier Wednesday that countries wanting to end the war should offer Ukraine assurances about its future defense Kyiv officials fear that any ceasefire or peace deal will just give the Kremlin time to rearm and invade again unless it is deterred by military force To be honest I believe that we have a right to demand serious security guarantees from the countries that aim for the peace in the world Zelenskyy saidZelenskyy was responding at a news conference in Kyiv to comments the previous day by Presidentelect Donald Trump that he understood Russias opposition to neighboring Ukraine joining NATO The United States Germany Hungary and Slovakia have stood in the way of Ukraine immediately joining the 32nation alliance Zelenskyy noted The alliance has said only that the country is on an irreversible path to membershipEarlier the Ukrainian military said it struck a fuel storage depot deep inside Russia causing a huge blaze at the facility that supplies an important Russian air baseRussian officials acknowledged a major drone attack in the area and said that authorities had set up an emergency command center to fight the fireUkraines General Staff said the assault hit the storage facility near Engels in Russias Saratov region about 600 kilometers 370 miles east of the Ukrainian border The depot supplied a nearby airfield used by aircraft that launch missiles across the border into Ukraine a statement on Facebook said Ukraine has been developing its arsenal of domestically produced longrange missiles and drones capable of reaching deep behind the front line as it faces restrictions on the range that its military can fire its Westernsupplied missiles into RussiaThe attacks have disrupted Russian logistics in the war which began on Feb 24 2022 and embarrassed the Kremlin Zelenskyy said last year that his country has developed a weapon that could hit a target 700 kilometers 400 miles away Some Ukrainian drone attacks have hit targets more than 1000 kilometers 600 miles awayThe governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin said that an unspecified industrial plant in Engels sustained damage from the falling drone debris that sparked a fire but nobody was hurt Engels which has a population of more than 220000 is located on the left bank of the Volga River and is home to multiple industrial plants Saratov a major industrial city of about 900000 faces Engels across the riverThe damage to the oil base creates serious logistical problems for the strategic aviation of the Russian occupiers and significantly reduces their ability to strike peaceful Ukrainian cities and civilian objects To be continued the statement from Ukraines General Staff said Russian authorities restricted flights early Wednesday at the airports of Saratov Ulyanovsk Kazan and Nizhnekamsk in an apparent response to the Ukrainian attackThe main base of Russias nuclearcapable strategic bombers is located just outside Engels It has come under Ukrainian drone attacks since the early stages of the war forcing the Russian military to relocate most of the bombers to other areasThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever