Russian attack on Ukraine market kills five
Russian attack on Ukraine market kills five
A market in southern Ukraine was targeted by a Russian drone strike, resulting in five fatalities and 21 injuries, including a 14-year-old girl, according to the country’s prosecutor general’s office. The incident occurred at 09:50 local time (06:50 GMT) in Nikopol, a town just across the Dnipro River from Russian-occupied territory.
Images released by the regional prosecutor’s office depict damaged kiosks scattered with remnants of metal, glass, and foodstuffs. This attack follows at least 15 civilian deaths from drone and missile strikes across Ukraine on the previous day.
Meanwhile, Ukraine retaliated with a drone and missile strike on the Russian city of Taganrog, causing one fatality and four severe injuries. Russia reported the damage, with Rostov regional governor Yuri Slyusar stating that a logistics company’s premises caught fire as a result.
Nikopol has been a frequent target of Russian assaults, with nearly half its 100,000 residents evacuating for safety. The recent strikes, however, hit a bustling area at dawn, leading to significant casualties. A second attack on the same location injured two additional men, prompting the prosecutor’s office to classify the incidents as potential war crimes.
Ukrainian air force officials noted that Russia launched nearly 300 drones overnight, causing damage in Kharkiv and the Sumy region. Moscow countered by claiming to have downed 85 of these drones. Ukraine’s defense ministry attributed the casualties to “Russian air defence operations,” as per a spokesperson.
Two strikes on Russian military facilities were also reported. A plant in Togliatti, which produces synthetic rubber and petrochemical materials, faced a “massive attack,” while the Alchevsk metallurgical plant in Luhansk, a Russian-occupied area, saw its operations disrupted.
President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a truce during the Easter holidays, but Moscow has yet to respond. The surge in daytime attacks by Russia, once uncommon, reflects ongoing escalation. This trend coincides with stalled peace efforts led by the U.S., as Donald Trump and his team redirected attention to the Middle East.
