Chernihiv: Russian missile strike on a theatre in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv killed seven people and wounded 144 others on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said. The strike also damaged a nearby university building and a central square.
The theatre was reportedly being used as a shelter for civilians, including many women and children. The Ukrainian government said the strike was a “war crime” and called for an immediate investigation.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strike was “an ordinary Saturday, which Russia turned into a day of pain and loss.” He added that the attack was “an act of deliberate terror against the civilian population.”
Chernihiv is a city of about 280,000 people located about 145 kilometers (90 miles) north of the capital Kyiv. It has been under heavy Russian bombardment since the start of the invasion.
The missile strike is the latest in a series of attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine. In recent days, Russian forces have also struck a maternity hospital in Mariupol, a train station in Kramatorsk, and a shopping mall in Kyiv.
The United Nations has said that more than 10,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the invasion. The true number of casualties is likely much higher.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened an investigation into possible war crimes committed in Ukraine. The ICC prosecutor has said that the attack on the theatre in Chernihiv could constitute a war crime.
The missile strike on the theatre is a reminder of the indiscriminate and brutal nature of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is also a reminder of the urgent need to end the war and bring those responsible to justice.