May 22 (Reuters) – At least eight people were wounded and scores of buildings were damaged in an overnight Russian air strike on the Dnipropetrovsk region in southeastern Ukraine, local officials said on Monday.
Video footage released by emergency services showed a huge crater in a courtyard and fire fighters dousing the remnants of blazes in huge piles of rubble near bombed-out buildings.
With a Ukrainian counteroffensive looming 15 months after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Moscow has intensified missile and drone strikes this month after a lull of nearly two months. Waves of attacks now come several times a week.
“The Russian invaders attacked military and infrastructure facilities of the eastern outpost of Ukraine – the city of Dnipro,” Ukraine’s air force said on the Telegram messaging service, referring to Dnipropetrovsk’s main city.
[1/3] Rescuers walk along of destroyed vehicles at a compound of a fire depot of the State Emergency Service heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine May 22, 2023. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovsk region/Handout via REUTERS
It said Russia had launched 16 different types of missiles and 20 Shahed-136/131 strike drones, and that Ukrainian air defences had shot down 20 Russian drones and four cruise missiles.
At least one man was wounded in the attack on Dnipro, and seven people were hurt in the Synelnykivskyi district of the Dnipropetrovsk region, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said.
Scores of buildings, including private homes, apartment blocks and administrative infrastructure were damaged or destroyed, he said.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the reports.
Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editibng by Robert Birsel
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