Russian aerial attack on Mykolaiv kills elderly woman, injures 23 civilians

Russia has once again targeted the port city of Mykolaiv, employing S-300 missiles overnight on Oct. 15, reported the head of the regional military administration, Vitalii Kim. 

The shelling of residential areas killed a 70-year-old woman, and injured 23 other civilians.

“Fires broke out, and efforts to extinguish them are ongoing,” Kim said immediately after the attack.

In one area of the city, an infrastructure facility, a restaurant complex, trade pavilions, private residential homes, and vehicles were damaged. Later, first responders reported that three fires were extinguished.

“According to the regional administration, some of the injured are in serious condition. People continue to seek [medical] treatment,” reported Hromadske Radio correspondent Yuliia Vynnyk.

Located in southern Ukraine on the Dnipro River, Mykolaiv systematically is a target of Russian airborne attacks. Recently, the occupiers have increasingly targeted the city’s critical infrastructure as winter nears. 

The Oct. 15 strike was particularly extensive, journalists say.

“The shelling occurred in several stages, and the air raid alarm sounded only after the first explosions,” a report from the scene states.

The Kremlin denies that the Russian military deliberately attacks civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian cities and villages. The occupiers claim that the shelling does not result in civilian casualties or the destruction of hospitals, schools, kindergartens, or energy and water supply facilities. 

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, such attacks constitute war crimes.