Russian missile strike kills more than a dozen in Zelensky's home city

A Russian ballistic missile strike on Volodymyr Zelensky's home city of Kryvyi Rih killed at least 18 people on Friday, including nine children, Ukrainian authorities said.

The missile struck a residential area near a children's playground and wounded 61 people, the Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Sergiy Lysa said Saturday after emergency operations were completed overnight.

Unverified videos on social media appeared to show bodies lying on a street, while another showed a plume of smoke rising into the evening sky.

"18... that is how many people were killed by the Russians when they launched a missile at Kryvyi Rig. Among them were nine children," Lysak said on Telegram.

He said 12 children were injured in Friday's attack.

"This is the kind of pain you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy," said Lysak.

Russia's defence ministry confirmed it had launched a missile at Kryvyi Rih but said it had struck a gathering of Ukrainian servicemen and foreign instructors, killing up to 85 people.

"As a result of the strike, enemy losses total up to 85 servicemen and officers of foreign countries, as well as up to 20 vehicles," the ministry said on Telegram.

Zelensky was born in Kryvyi Rih, which had a pre-war population of around 600,000 people.

"There is only one reason why this continues – Russia does not want a ceasefire and we see it. The whole world sees it," the Ukrainian leader said.

"And only the world's pressure on Russia, all efforts to strengthen Ukraine, our air defence, our forces – only this will determine when the war will end."

The brave women of Ukraine

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US President Donald Trump's administration has been pushing for a speedy end to the more than three-year war, holding talks with both Russia and Ukraine. Moscow has rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional and full ceasefire, while Ukraine has accused Russia of dragging out talks with no intention of halting its offensive.

Kyiv is seeking security guarantees from its allies in the event of a peace agreement with Moscow to prevent a repeat of its February 2022 full-scale invasion.

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Speaking to reporters in Kyiv after meeting British and French military chiefs, Zelensky said that European military planners could be ready within a month with details of a foreign troop contingent in Ukraine.

He emphasised that many other countries would also contribute to the effort, which envisages foreign troops patrolling Ukrainian land, sea and airspace.

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"I think the teams need about a month, no longer, and we will be fully ready with an understanding of this infrastructure," he said.

Zelensky added that military working groups would meet weekly until then to finalise the details. He did not specify which other nations would contribute.

'War crime'

Kryvyi Rih, in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region, is about 60 kilometres from the front line but has regularly been targeted by Russian drones and missiles.

A previous Russian ballistic attack on the city on Wednesday killed at least four people and wounded more than a dozen others.

Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city's military administration, said the missile landed near a children's playground.

Five apartment buildings were damaged, interior minister Igor Klymenko said.

He said police had blocked off the area to maintain order.

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"The police are documenting the consequences of Russia's war crime and accepting statements from the victims," he added.

Social media video from the scene showed a car in flames, while people could be heard shouting.

Andriy Kovalenko, a Ukrainian official tasked with countering disinformation, described the missile involved in the attack as an "Iskander".

The Iskander is a Russian ballistic missile system that can have a range of up to 500 kilometres.

"This is a deliberate strike to kill a large number of people," Kovalenko said.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)