kyiv (Reuters) – Russia attacked the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Sunday with multiple guided bombs, wounding at least 16 people and damaging railways, infrastructure and residential and commercial buildings, Ukrainian officials said.
Ivan Fedorov, governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, said Russian forces attacked three districts of the city with a total of 13 guided bombs between 5 a.m. (0200 GMT) and 7 a.m. (0400 GMT). The attacks injured at least 16 people, including two children aged 8 and 17, he said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a post on the Telegram messaging app that several residential buildings, city infrastructure and railways were damaged in the attacks.
He posted photos from the sites of the attacks, showing charred cars, a hole in a residential building and rescuers battling fires. Local officials said trains were delayed and rerouted as rescuers removed debris.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on Sunday’s attacks.
Highly destructive guided bombs are difficult for Ukrainian air defenses to intercept.
The southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, a major logistics and industrial center located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the front line, has been the target of intensified Russian-guided bomb attacks in recent weeks. Moscow’s troops partially occupy the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, which is also home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
Zelenskiy said that over the past week Russian forces used nearly 900 guided bombs, more than 300 Shahed drones and more than 40 missiles to attack urban centers, towns and villages in Ukraine.
“This Russian terrorism knows no pause and can only be stopped by the unity of the world: unity to support Ukraine and unity to pressure Russia for war,” Zelenskiy said on Telegram.
Zelenskiy, who was in the United States last week to attend the U.N. General Assembly and present his plan for victory in the two-and-a-half-year war to key officials, is pressing his allies to set up more air defenses.
Moscow denies attacking civilians, although it has killed thousands since its February 2022 invasion, according to United Nations data.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday that its air defenses shot down 125 Ukrainian drones overnight, while a residential apartment was attacked in the western city of Voronezh, according to the local governor.