Twenty-two killed in a Russian rocket attack in Vinnytsia, Ukraine

Russian missiles struck Vinnytsia, a town heading for the eastern front, killing at least twenty-two civilians, including three children, Ukrainian officials reported. About a hundred others were injured in the attack. Three Russian missiles allegedly hit an office block and damaged nearby buildings.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the attack, calling it an act of terrorism.

Ukraine's State Emergency Service said the missile hit the car park of the nine-story office block at around 10:50 am Kyiv time (1:20 am IST). Nearby buildings, which are said to be residences, were also affected in Vinnytsia.

Vinnytsia is a city of about three hundred and seventy thousand inhabitants, located in the southwest of Kyiv, far from the center of the ongoing fighting in the Donbas. Russia's Defense Ministry has not commented on the attack but has so far denied targeting civilians.

The Ukrainian presidency said the attack was carried out by a Kalibr cruise missile reportedly launched from a submarine in the Black Sea. A senior regional emergency services official said it was unlikely to find any survivors of the attack.

Zelensky went public on social media, writing that Russia kills Ukrainian children and civilians daily and conducts missile attacks on civilian facilities where there are no military targets. He alleged that it was an act of open terrorism on the part of Russia.

The attack came as EU Justice and Foreign Ministers were due to meet in The Hague for a conference on Russia's reported war crimes. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of another war crime with its attack on Vinnytsia. He wrote that they would prosecute all Russian war criminals accountable for every drop of blood and tears shed by Ukrainians.

The Ukrainian pop singer Roxolana was also due to perform tonight at the concert hall in Vinnytsia, but the venue was destroyed in the attack. On social media, She said that one member of her squad had died and the other was "fighting for his life" due to injuries.

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