President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Monday said 87 people were killed in an attack last week in the Chernihiv region north of the capital Kyiv, in what appeared to be one of the deadliest incidents the country has seen since. since the Russian invasion three months ago. .
On May 17, local officials said that at 5 a.m., Russian forces fired four missiles from an aircraft at Desna, a settlement on the east bank of the Dnieper River, where a training center is located. major military training. The head of the provincial military service Vyacheslav Chaus said two of the rockets hit a building at the time.
“We died and many people were injured,” Chaus said.
On Monday, Mr. Zelensky gave the numbers.
“Unfortunately, statistically, we have 87 corpses, 87 victims,” he said in questions after giving a video address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“I don’t want to get too emotional at this point, but I can tell you that our country is losing a lot today,” he said. “But it makes us stronger.”
It is not clear whether the dead were civilians or military personnel.
According to The New York Times analysis of videos posted on social media about the incident, the building that was attacked is located on the campus of a military training center.
Those videos of the aftermath of the strike, as well as the photos, show flames erupting from the roof and upper windows of a badly damaged building. Debris that appeared to be from the explosions was scattered over a wide expanse of grass outside.
Satellite images also appear to show that at least one additional building inside the facility has been hit.
The day after the attack, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov, speak High-precision, long-range and ground-based missiles destroyed enemy reserves completing joint operations at training centers in Desna and another location.
Moscow has issued several statements claiming to have damaged or destroyed other military facilities and convoys carrying Ukrainian weapons.
On March 13, the Russian missile destroy a military base at Yavoriv, a strategic military training center about ten miles from the border with Poland. That attack left at least 35 people dead and 134 others injured, according to Ukrainian officials.
