A Russian drone strike on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro late Wednesday, April 17, killed three people, including a young girl, and wounded 28 others, Ukrainian officials said.
“Late in the evening, the enemy attacked the city of Dnipro with drones,” Ukraine’s State Emergency Service wrote on Telegram. “The Russians killed three people, including one child.”
Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Sergiy Lysak said the victims included a young girl and an elderly woman. Four children were among the wounded, including a 9-month-old girl, authorities said.
The drone strike sparked several fires throughout the city, which emergency crews later extinguished, according to the emergency service.
The attack follows a Russian ballistic missile strike Sunday in the northeastern city of Sumy that killed at least 35 people.
Despite ongoing international calls for a ceasefire, including from the US President Donald Trump, Russian aerial assaults on Ukrainian cities have intensified in recent days. The war, now in its third year, continues to cause widespread civilian casualties and damage.
Ukrainian officials also reported a surge in casualties during the so-called “energy ceasefire” period, which according to Russian claims started on March 18.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council, said that the Russian military killed nearly 2.5 times more Ukrainians during the days of the “moratorium” than in the same timeframe prior to its announcement.