Russian strike on Ukrainian apartments kills 17

Three Russian missiles hit an eight-story apartment building on Wednesday in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, about 60 miles from the Russian border. At least 17 died and 60 more were injured, including three children, according to a translation of a Wednesday statement from Ukraine’s State Emergency Services. The Kremlin has not commented on the strike but has repeatedly claimed it does not target civilians. Search and rescue workers on Wednesday were digging people from the rubble, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The attack comes weeks after a Russian aerial strike on civilian areas of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, which killed four people. The Institute for the Study of War, a military think tank, earlier this month suggested Russia might intensify strikes to pull Ukrainian military resources away from the front lines.

How are Ukrainian leaders responding? Ukrainian leaders renewed calls for more international support against Russia. The attack would not have happened if Ukraine received sufficient air defense systems from allies, Zelenskyy wrote on social media. Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, claimed allies could protect Ukraine from aerial strikes if they wanted to, noting how Western forces successfully thwarted a large missile strike on Israel from Iran just days before. He plans to petition for more resources while meeting with allies in Italy this week.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report on the U.S. forces giving Ukraine weapons it intercepted from Iran last week.