Russia’s strikes injure 17 in Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih, including rescue worker

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(Reuters) – Russia launched widespread air strikes on Ukraine overnight, targeting Kyiv and the western region of Lviv, injuring at least 17 people, including a rescue worker in the city of Kryvyi Rih in the eastern part of the country, officials said.

About 10 drones were destroyed near Kyiv, the city’s military administration said on the Telegram messaging app. There were no reports of destruction or injuries, it said.

Air alerts were declared twice in the capital during the night, lasting about three hours in total. The Lviv region near the Polish border was also the target of a drone attack, with no damage reported by early Sunday.

Ukraine’s interior ministry said on Telegram that Russia’s strikes also targeted the city of Kryvyi Rih, some 400 km (250 miles) southeast of Kyiv, injuring 17 people, including a rescue worker. Eight of the wounded were hospitalised.

The ministry said a city administration building was partially destroyed and several residential buildings and cars were damaged. A short-lived fire damaged emergency services equipment, it said.

The ministry posted photos of emergency services attending to wounded people in the dark and of damaged cars.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both side deny targeting civilians in the war Moscow started with a full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour in February 2022.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Rod Nickel and William Mallard)