Civilians trapped after Ukrainian airstrike hits apartment block – governor
A Ukrainian airstrike has destroyed a five-story residential building in the Russian town of Aleshki in Kherson Region, trapping an unknown number of civilians under the rubble, according to local authorities.
The strike occurred on Friday, around seven kilometers from the Dnieper River, which divides Russia and Ukraine. Kherson Region Governor Vladimir Saldo said the building collapsed after being hit by two bombs.
“The enemy has hit a residential building in Aleshki in an airstrike,” Saldo told Russian news agencies. “The building has collapsed. Civilians are trapped underneath.”
Saldo alleged that Ukrainian forces were using drones to hinder rescue efforts, targeting emergency crews attempting to reach the site. “Dozens of people are trapped under the rubble,” he wrote in a statement on Telegram.
Ukrainian forces have regularly carried out cross-border strikes into Russian territory and Russian in recent months, often using drones and Western-supplied weapons.
On July 8, a Ukrainian drone strike killed four civilians, including a five-year-old boy, at a public beach in the city of Kursk during celebrations for the Day of Family, Love, and Fidelity.
Last week, four people were killed and several others injured when Ukrainian forces launched a HIMARS rocket attack on Donetsk, according to local officials.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused Kiev of pursuing a “deliberate policy” of striking civilian areas. “It is a deliberate policy that has already been elevated to the level of state doctrine,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement last month, citing alleged atrocities in Donbass, including drone attacks on homes and the mass killing of elderly people.
Authorities in Kherson say rescue operations in Aleshki will continue despite the threat of further drone attacks. The number of casualties has yet to be confirmed.
