Russian air strikes kill 26 in devastating attack on Ukraine’s Ternopil

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko confirmed that a devastating Russian aerial assault on Ternopil in western Ukraine had resulted in the deaths of at least 26 people and the injuries of dozens more.

At the time of the Russian attack on Ternopil on Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, announced on Thursday that 22 people were still missing. In order to force emergency power cuts in the icy weather, Russia launched 476 drones and 48 missiles across Ukraine, striking vital infrastructure for energy and transportation.

The attack destroyed a residential building’s upper floors in Ternopil. As firefighters battled the blaze, smoke emitted from the structure as concerned residents gathered below, waiting for confirmation about missing loved ones.

Klymenko reported on Telegram that emergency personnel searched the structure’s interior throughout the night. There is still a lot to do. Finding those who might still be hidden beneath the rubble is the main goal, he wrote.

Not a single apartment was left standing in the building where two entrances were completely destroyed. The building was completely engulfed in a wave by the flames that had just erupted. People tried to jump out of windows out of fear.

Three children were among those killed, according to authorities.

Oksana Kobel’s son, who had been staying in a ninth-floor apartment during the strike, had remained hopeful. I heard the explosions as I left for work. I called him and said, “Bohdan, go to the shelter, and get dressed.” She recalled that he said, “Mum, I’m already up, everything will work out.”

Poland, a NATO member with a border with western Ukraine, temporarily closed the southeast’s airports in Rzeszow and Lublin and deployed aircraft to protect its airspace.

Following his European diplomatic mission, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Turkiye to resume peace talks with Russia.

In seven of the country’s seven regions, the attack caused nationwide restrictions on power consumption.

Russia, which denies intentionally attacking people, claimed that Ukrainian forces fired four ATACMS missiles at Voronezh in southern Russia as a response to “terrorist attacks” on Russian territory.