KYIV, Ukraine, June 30, (AP): Russian missiles slammed into a town in southern Ukraine, killing seven civilians, including children, and wounding dozens more, local authorities reported.
Ukrainian officials published photos of bodies stretched out under picnic blankets in a park in Vilniansk, and deep craters in the blackened earth next to the charred, twisted remains of a building.
Thirty-six people were wounded in Saturday evening's attack, authorities said, and declared a day of mourning Sunday. Vilniansk is in Zaporizhzhia region, less than 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the local capital and north of the front lines, as Russian forces continue to occupy part of the province.
Local Gov Ivan Fedorov said that three children were among the dead and nine more were wounded.
In a separate Telegram post hours earlier, Fedorov said that the strike damaged a shop, residential buildings, and an unspecified "critical infrastructure” facility in Vilniansk, which had a population of around 14,300 prior to Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia continues to stretch out Ukrainian forces in several areas along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front. Moscow has stepped up airstrikes in a bid to drain Ukraine’s resources, often targeting energy facilities and other vital infrastructure.
In the aftermath of the Vilniansk attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Kyiv’s Western partners to bolster its air defenses and long-range munitions to deter Russian attacks.