Russia-Ukraine live: Death toll from attack in Dnipro rises

Emergency workers clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building leaving many people under debris in the southeastern city of Dnipro, Ukraine [Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo]

Death toll from a Russian missile attack that destroyed an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro has risen to 20, Governor Valentyn Reznichenko says, while 73 people were injured.

Russia carried out three air raids, 57 missile attacks and 69 attacks from heavy weapon rocket salvo systems on Saturday, Ukraine’s top military command says.

Ukrainian forces are fighting to retain control of Soledar in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the regional governor says.

Russia cancelled at the last minute a scheduled exchange of prisoners of war, the Ukrainian body dealing with prisoners says.

‘More pressure building’ on sending weapons to Ukraine: AJ Correspondent

In his nightly address Zelenskyy has said that the way to stop Russian attacks, such as the latest one in Dnipro, is if the international community sends Ukraine more weapons, Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler has reported from Kyiv.

“We know that Britain has confirmed that it will send some of its Challenger 2 tanks. Zelenskyy has welcomed that and he’s certainly going to hope that paves the way for other Western powers to also send tanks,” Butler said.

“We know for example countries like Poland are willing to send their German built Leopard tanks, but that has to be signed off by Germany. Germany so far has been quite reluctant to sign off on European powers sending their German built tanks because they’re worried that that’s going to send the wrong sign to Moscow; that it’s going to escalate the conflict

“But there’s certainly more and more pressure building. The fact that the UK has decided to send these tanks, I think we’ll certainly see other Western powers following suit in the next days.”

‘Difficult work for rescuers’ in Dnipro facing power cuts: AJE Correspondent

Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler reporting from Kyiv says that rescuers have managed to pull out dozens of people alive, including a three-year-old girl.

“It’s particularly difficult work for the rescuers, because they are having to work in very cold conditions, often without enough electricity, or in the night, without enough light because of the ongoing power shortages,” Butler said.

“The attack in Dnipro was part of a wider picture – there was a wave of missile attacks across Ukraine on Saturday including here in the capital Kyiv. We heard a series of explosions and those attacks were mainly attacking power infrastructure, that’s according to Ukrainian officials who say that a number of facilities were hit.”

Source: Aljazeera