A Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukraine’s southeastern city Dnipro hit multiple civilian sites killing 17 people and injuring more than 200 others, officials said.
The injured include at least 18 children, with regional mayor Borys Filatov saying the attack caused an "unprecedented amount of destruction" in the city.
A barrage of Russian missiles and drones damaged 19 schools, 10 kindergartens, a vocational school, a music school and a social welfare office, as well as eight medical facilities, the mayor said.
It came as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky reached The Hague for a Nato summit aiming to secure additional military support for Ukraine. Mr Zelensky also said he is planning to meet with US president Donald Trump on the sidelines of the two-day talks.
Mr Zelensky has urged Kyiv's 32 allies at the Nato summit to bolster Ukraine's defence industry, after signing a deal with Keir Starmer on Monday which they said would strengthen both countries.
Talking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Mr Trump has said he will “probably” meet with the war-time president tomorrow at the Nato summit.
Key Points
- Russian missile attack kills 17 in Dnipro and injures more than 200
- Russia is using motorbikes to attack Ukrainian brigades along frontline
- Rutte says Russia could attack Nato within three to seven years
- Russian missile attack kills 17 in Dnipro and injures more than 200
Watch: Zelensky delivers special message to UK as he meets army troops at Downing Street
06:55 , Arpan RaiRussia is using motorbikes to attack Ukrainian brigades along frontline
06:46 , Arpan RaiRussian forces are exploiting a new form of attack using motorcycles in assaults on Ukrainian forces along the war's frontline, a think tank has said.
“Russian forces are expanding their use of motorcycles along the frontline in Ukraine – a tactic that the Russian military may leverage in future wars beyond Ukraine, possibly including operations against Nato states,” the Institute for the Study of War said, citing a Ukrainian servicemember who confirmed a rise in this assault method.
“The servicemember stated that Russian motorcycle forces are no longer attacking along roads but mainly attacking through open fields and trying to bypass Ukrainian engineering barriers along the frontline,” the ISW said.
The think tank cited a Frontelligence Insight report that “Russian forces are mainly using motorcycles as a form of transport for attacking infantry to support diversion, reconnaissance, infiltration, and flanking support missions.”
It added that these motorcycles have been given to Russian forces by foreign allies like China.
“Frontelligence Insight reported that Russian forces are mainly using foreign-made motorcycles, primarily those manufactured in the People's Republic of China (PRC), and that volunteer organisations in Russia provide most of the motorcycles for frontline Russian units,” the ISW said.
Rutte says Russia could attack Nato within three to seven years
06:32 , Arpan RaiRussia could attack a Nato member state within three to seven years and is currently more prepared for a war than the alliance, the bloc’s secretary general Mark Rutte said.
“When you look at the latest opinion polling done in Nato, you see that many, many people, and it is getting to really high numbers, are supporting the fact that, yes, there is a direct threat from Russia,” Mr Rutte said at the Nato public forum at The Hague yesterday.
“That yes, if we do not invest now, we are really at risk that the Russians might try something against Nato territory in three, five or seven years. And therefore there is large scale support. I see it in my own country,” he said.
The Nato official warned that the alliance is “living in much more dangerous times, and there are enemies, adversaries who might want to attack us”.
Russian blasts blow out Ukrainian train's windows in Dnipro
06:23 , Arpan RaiOne of the blasts from the Russian attack yesterday blew out the windows of a passenger train in regional capital Dnipro, which was carrying about 500 people.
Russia used ballistic missiles and drones to target multiple civilian sites in the central Ukrainian city. The total death toll from yesterday’s attack rose to 26 and hundreds were injured.
The barrage damaged 19 schools, 10 kindergartens, a vocational school, a music school and a social welfare office, as well as eight medical facilities, according to Dnipro mayor Borys Filatov. Schools are closed for the summer break.
Mr Filatov declared Wednesday to be an official day of mourning.
Trump's nominee for top US general in Europe 'thinks Ukraine can win'
05:56 , Arpan RaiPresident Donald Trump's nominee to become the top US general in Europe said he believed Ukraine could prevail against Russia's more than three-year-old invasion.
"I think Ukraine can win," Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich said in testimony at his Senate confirmation hearing. "I think any time your own homeland is threatened, you fight with a tenacity that's difficult for us to conceive of.
"Grynkewich has been nominated by the Trump administration to serve as the next Supreme Allied Commander Europe within Nato, as well as commander of US European Command.
He currently serves as Director of Operations (J-3) for the Joint Staff at the Pentagon in Washington, DC.
Ukrainian lawmaker who nominated Trump for Nobel Peace Prize withdraws support
05:14 , Arpan RaiA Ukrainian lawmaker who pushed for President Donald Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize has withdrawn his nomination after Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks stalled.
It’s been more than three years since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Trump had promised to end the war within 24 hours of taking office, but it’s been five months, and the two eastern European countries have not agreed to a peace deal.
Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign committee, nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize last November, but told Newsweek Tuesday that he withdrew his nomination.
Merezhko had "lost any sort of faith and belief" in Trump and his ability to get a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian lawmaker withdraws nomination for Trump to receive Nobel Peace Prize
Nato chief praises Trump for making Europe 'pay in a BIG way'
05:11 , Arpan RaiNato secretary-general Mark Rutte praised US president Donald Trump for making Europe "pay in a BIG way".
Mr Trump while flying aboard Air Force One en route to The Hague, published a screenshot of a private message from Mr Rutte saying: "Donald, you have driven us to a really, really important moment for America and Europe and the world. You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done."
"Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win," Mr Rutte wrote.
Officials at Nato confirmed that he sent the message.
The allies are likely to endorse a goal of spending 5 per cent of their gross domestic product on their security, to be able to fulfil the alliance's plans for defending against outside attack.
Zelensky warns Russia could attack Nato country within next five years
04:49 , Arpan RaiVolodymyr Zelensky has warned Russia could attack a Nato country within the next five years.
The Ukrainian leader said Vladimir Putin could carry out an attack on another Nato country to test the alliance.
Mr Zelensky issued his warning during an interview with Sky News on Monday (23 June).
The Ukrainian president also said plans for Nato members to increase defence spending to five per cent of GDP by 2035 are “very slow”, stating Putin could have “significantly greater capabilities” by 2030.
Watch the video here:
Zelensky warns Russia could attack Nato country within next five years
Russian missile attack kills 17 in Dnipro and injures more than 200
04:20 , Arpan RaiA Russian missile attack in southeastern Ukraine yesterday killed at least 17 people, injured hundreds and caused sweeping damage, officials said, ahead of president Volodymyr Zelensky’s participation at Nato summit with Kyiv’s allies.
A Russian ballistic missile attack on Dnipro hit multiple civilian sites in the central Ukrainian city around midday, killing 17 people and injuring more than 200 others, officials said.
“The number of casualties is constantly being updated,” Dnipro’s regional administration head Serhii Lysak wrote on Telegram.
Among the wounded were at least 18 children, he added.
Two people were also killed in the town of Samar, around 10 km (six miles) from Dnipro, Mr Lysak said, adding that an infrastructure facility was damaged.
The rare daytime strike also damaged dozens of apartment buildings and educational facilities among other sites, according to Mayor Borys Filatov, who said the attack caused an "unprecedented amount of destruction" in the city.
