The death toll from this weekend’s Russian missile strike on a residential building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro has risen to 35, an official said on Monday.
Rescuers continued searching through the rubble for more victims, regional Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said. At least 75 people were wounded and 35 others were still missing after Saturday’s strike.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said a child was among the people confirmed dead so far.
Mr. Zelensky said reports had been coming in from Dnipro all day.
“We are fighting for every person,” he said. “The rescue operation will last as long as there is even the slightest chance to save lives.”
Yet, there is now little hope of pulling any more survivors from the rubble of the apartment block.
“The chances of saving people now are minimal,” said Dnipro’s Mayor Borys Filatov. “I think the number of dead will be in the dozens.”
About 1,700 people lived in the multi-story building, with residents saying there were no military facilities at the site. The reported death toll made it the deadliest attack in one place since a September 30 strike in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.
The attack on Dnipro was the most serious of several attacks on Saturday. An air alert was temporarily in effect throughout Ukraine.
The missile that struck the building in Dnipro appeared to have been a Kh-22 cruise missile, also known as an X-22 missile, according to Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Defense. She said it was one of five of them fired at Ukrainian territory that day.
More than 550 people were involved in the rescue operation, according to local officials.
Meanwhile, Russia and Belarus will begin joint air force drills on Monday, which have triggered fears in Kyiv and the West that Moscow could use its ally to launch a new ground offensive in Ukraine.
Minsk says the drills are defensive, and since Moscow used its neighbor as a springboard for its invasion of Ukraine last February, Belarus has conducted numerous military exercises, both on its own and jointly with Russia.
Ukraine has continuously warned of possible attacks from Belarus, and President Zelensky said last week that the country must be ready at its border with Belarus.
The Kremlin has denied that it has been pressuring Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to take a more active role in the conflict in Ukraine. Minsk in turn has said it will not enter the war.
