UN condemns deadly Russian attack on Ukraine city

A Russian missile strike on Ukraine's northern city of Chernihiv killed seven people and wounded 148, the regional governor said Sunday, in what the UN denounced as a "heinous" attack.

The strike came during the Orthodox holiday of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Saturday, as some attended morning church services in the city.

In an early-morning update, Vyacheslav Chaus, governor of Chernihiv region, said there were "7 people dead, 148 people received injuries".

"41 people remain in hospitals. 15 people underwent surgeries," he said in a post on Telegram, adding that "more than 500 homes suffered damage".

The strike hit the centre of the city, which is 150 kilometres (90 miles) north of Kiev towards Belarus, and which had largely been spared from major attacks since the first months of Russia's invasion as fierce fighting rages in the east and south.

The Russian army marched through the city when it invaded Ukraine through Belarus in February 2022, before being repelled by Kiev's forces.

President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier said the dead included "a girl, her name was Sofia, she was six years old", and that there were 15 children among the wounded.

"Our soldiers will respond to Russia for this terrorist attack -- a tangible answer," he vowed.

From a hospital bed, her legs still covered in blood, Diana Kazakova said she had been inside a shop when the strike happened just minutes after sirens sounded.

When she came to, she said, "people were crying, shouting" in the street outside. "It was scary."

Iryna, a 24-year-old bartender in Chernihiv, told AFP: "There was smoke, screams, people were running, crying, moaning. We ran to the shelter when everything happened and sat there."

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