A Russian missile strike leaves at least 23 dead in Vinnytsia as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calls for its aggressor to be labeled as a terrorist state for its numerous attacks on civilians.
In a statement, Zelensky said that Russia has shown its attitude to international law, Europe, and to the entire civilized world. The Ukrainian president added that after the attack on Vinnytsia, no one should have any doubt that a Special Tribunal on Russian aggression against Ukraine was needed as soon as possible.
Russian Missile Strike
The official's remarks came after Moscow's missiles struck the city of Vinnytsia on Thursday leaving 23 dead, including three children under the age of 10. Zelensky also called for the confiscation of "all Russian assets and funds in all countries of the world" in order to compensate "the victims of Russian terror."
Images of the aftermath showed cars in Vinnytsia scorched as firefighters continued to search through the rubble of a damaged building. Another 64 people, including four children, were hospitalized, 34 of whom are in serious condition and five in critical condition, said the country's State Emergency Service (SES), as per CNN.
Chief of Ukraine's National Police Ihor Klymenko said that only six of the bodies had so far been identified and that DNA tests may be required to identify the others. There were more than 50 buildings and more than 40 cars that were damaged by the missile strikes, said the official.
The brutal strike was conducted with the use of Russian Kalibr cruise missiles that were launched from submarines stationed in the Black Sea, said the deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.
According to Aljazeera, the attack on Vinnytsia came as European Union officials convened in The Hague to discuss Russia's war crimes in Ukraine. Zelensky said during an address to European officials meeting that there were eight rockets used in the brutal attack, two of which struck the center of the city.
Attacks on Civilians
In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that he was "appalled" by the attack on civilians in the city, while the EU slammed the Russian missile attack as an "atrocity." Zelensky added that it was inevitable that the International Criminal Court (ICC) will bring accountability to those guilty of crimes under its jurisdiction.
Later, Ukraine's Interior Minister Denys Monastyrski said that two more missiles were intercepted en route to the city by air defenses. The ICC in The Hague opened an investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine just after President Vladimir Putin's military troops invaded in February. The agency has dispatched dozens of investigators to the country to gather evidence.
Since the beginning of the war, thousands of people have already been killed and cities have been destroyed. Millions of civilians were also forced to flee their homes in fear of Russia's aggression.
The conference in The Hague heard testimony about atrocities and agreed to coordinate their investigations in Ukraine. Various nations have also agreed to pledge roughly $20 million to assist the court as well as the prosecutor general's office in Ukraine, the New York Times reported.
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