Tragic Russian Strike on Ukrainian Apartment Block Claims 25 Lives, Including Children

Thick smoke billowed as firefighters battled the blaze, while anxious residents gathered outside, hoping for updates on their missing family members.

In response to the situation, Poland, a NATO ally neighboring Ukraine on the west, temporarily shut down its Rzeszow and Lublin airports in the southeastern region. Polish and allied forces mobilized aircraft to ensure the security of their airspace.

The assault on Ternopil coincided with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s planned discussions in Türkiye.

UN human rights leader Volker Turk expressed his shock at the civilian toll resulting from Russia’s assault on Ternopil.

“Once again, the grim reality of Russia’s use of powerful long-range missiles and drone swarms has been tragically highlighted in Ukraine today,” Turk stated in a release.

More pressure on Russia

Russia launched the attack as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled for talks in Türkiye intended to help revive peace negotiations with Russia, after his short tour to European capitals.

Zelenskyy urged allies to increase pressure on Russia to end its nearly four-year-old war in Ukraine, including by providing Kyiv with more air-defence missiles.

“Every brazen attack against ordinary life shows that the pressure on Russia is insufficient. Effective sanctions and assistance to Ukraine can change this,” he said on X.

Ukraine will “bring Russia’s horrific murder … to the spotlight of tomorrow’s UN Security Council meeting”, foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said.

Energy infrastructure was hit in seven Ukrainian regions, officials said.

Restrictions were placed on power usage for consumers across the country.

A Reuters witness in the western city of Lviv reported hearing explosions, and the northwestern city of Kharkiv came under fire.

Residents took cover in metro stations far away in Kyiv.

Russia, which denies deliberately targeting civilians, said it had launched airstrikes in response to what it called “terrorist attacks” on Russian territories.

It said Ukrainian forces had fired four US-made ATACMS missiles at the southern Russian city of Voronezh.

Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday it had attacked military targets in Russia with the missiles.

---