A Russian missile strike Friday on Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine, killed at least 14 people and wounded more than 50, local officials said. It was the latest in a series of Russian attacks on urban centers in recent days that have caused significant civilian casualties despite ongoing cease-fire talks.
Oleksandr Vilkul, head of Kryvyi Rih’s defense council, said on social media that five children were among the dead. He said the missile struck a residential neighborhood, with a playground nearby. Other officials warned the death toll could rise as rescuers continued to search the rubble for victims.
Friday’s attack came as Russia appears to have ramped up its attacks on civilian areas in recent weeks. Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky, was struck on Wednesday in an attack that killed four people. On Thursday, a Russian drone attack on the eastern city of Kharkiv also killed four people, according to the city’s mayor.
The number of civilian casualties could not be independently verified.
The unusually high toll on Friday comes as both countries have engaged in cease-fire negotiations partly aimed at reducing the war’s impact on civilians. Ukraine and Russia have so far committed to halting attacks on energy infrastructure and in the Black Sea, but these truces have yet to be implemented, with both sides accusing each other of violations.
In a post on social media, Mr. Zelensky said the attack was proof that “Russia does not want a cease-fire, and we see it.”
His message included photos of the aftermath, showing bodies sprawled on the grass of what appeared to be a playground, some covered with rescue blankets. Around the playground, tree tops had been torn off and building windows shattered by the blast.
The Ukrainian officials said that in both the Wednesday and Friday strikes on Kryvyi Rih, Russia used ballistic missiles, high-speed weapons that have proven difficult for Ukrainian air-defense systems to intercept.