A burned-out car sits among the wreckage after a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, on April 4, according to local governor Serhiy Lysak. REUTERS
A deadly missile strike hit the city of Kryvyi Rih on Friday, killing at least 16 people. Among the dead were six children. Over 50 people suffered injuries, according to Ukrainian officials. The attack struck near homes, a playground, and a regular city street.
Kryvyi Rih is the hometown of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. He addressed the nation that night and spoke with sadness about the tragedy.
“Many injured, houses damaged. The missile actually hit the area next to residential buildings – a children’s playground, ordinary streets,” Zelensky said. He sent his condolences to the families affected by the attack.
The Ukrainian president also mentioned another attack that same day. A drone hit a power plant in the Kherson region. Zelensky said Russia knew the location was an energy site and attacked it anyway.
“Such strikes cannot be a coincidence – Russians know that this is an energy facility,” he said. “These types of facilities must be protected from any attacks, as per the promises Russia made to the American side.”
Zelensky’s comments suggested that Moscow had previously promised not to target such important infrastructure.
The Russian defense ministry released a statement shortly after the strike. They claimed they had aimed at a gathering of Ukrainian and Western military officials. They said the missile hit a restaurant where officers and instructors had been meeting.
The statement described it as “a high-precision strike… with a high-explosive missile on the site of a meeting with unit commanders and Western instructors in one of the restaurants in the city of Kryvyi Rih.”
According to Russia, the attack killed up to 85 soldiers, including foreign officers, and destroyed 20 vehicles. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed those claims.
This attack marks another deadly chapter in the ongoing war, which has lasted more than two years. Recent months have seen repeated attacks on civilian areas and energy infrastructure. Ukraine accuses Russia of trying to spread fear among civilians and weaken the country’s power supply.
International leaders have voiced concern over the continuing violence. Many say attacks on civilians and power stations only make peace harder to achieve. A top U.S. official recently said the window for diplomacy is closing fast. He warned that if the violence continues, support for peace talks may fade.
Kryvyi Rih has come under attack several times during the war, but Friday’s missile strike was one of the deadliest in recent weeks. The city is now dealing with the loss of innocent lives, including young children, and damage to homes and streets. Emergency crews are still working to treat the injured and clear debris.
