Girl poses for photo seconds before missile hits Chernihiv
This is the shocking moment a massive Russian ballistic missile struck a building in Ukraine as a woman posed for a selfie.
Mass casualties were reported on Saturday after the devastating attack, which killed seven civilians and injured more than 100.
The deadly Iskander missiles are usually used against military infrastructure, but Russia targeted innocent residents of Chernihiv.
Surveillance footage also shows the missile blast through the city center, narrowly missing a family but causing untold damage.
President Zelensky said of the attack: “A Russian missile hit right in the center of the city, in our Chernihiv. A square, the polytechnic university, a theater.”
Zelensky added: “An ordinary Saturday, which Russia turned into a day of pain and loss.”
The video shows a bright orange inferno engulfing the road, where cars had been driving moments earlier. The cars were destroyed, with smashed roofs and windows blown out.
A six-year-old girl is among the dead after suffering intense blood loss.
In the selfie video, a young woman can be seen smiling in a white dress when the building behind her explodes and the video cuts off.
Many victims had been traveling to church to celebrate a Ukrainian Catholic holiday when the strike hit.
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Mayor Oleksandr Lomako told the BBC: “I understand that their aim was a military event taking place in the building of the drama theater and that it was their target.
“But it is clear that the Russians launching those missiles and those giving them orders in the middle of the day to the civilian city realized that the victims will be primarily civilians.
“There is no other way to interpret it than a war crime against civilians, yet another Russian war crime.”
Denise Brown, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, said: “It is heinous to attack the main square of a large city, in the morning, while people are out walking, some going to the church to celebrate a religious day for many Ukrainians.
“I condemn this repeated pattern of Russian strikes on populated areas of Ukraine, causing deaths, massive destruction and soaring humanitarian needs.”
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The horrifying shelling came as Ukraine was accused of carrying out a “terrorist attack” on a Russian airbase.
The Russian Defense Ministry said missiles made impact at around 10am local time in Novgorod Oblast.
A statement on Telegram said: “The Kyiv regime carried out a terrorist attack using a copter-type UAV on a military airfield in the Novgorod region.”
Earlier this week, the Ukraine government announced plans for new military fortifications in the Chernihiv region.
Today’s attack is the deadliest in the region since the city was reclaimed by Ukrainian forces last year. It is located around 30 miles from Belarus’ border.
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