Israel condemns vicious Russian attack on city with vibrant Jewish community

A Jewish physician living in a residential building struck by a Russian missile was reportedly unharmed, in what was described as “miraculous.”

By AP and World Israel News Staff

Russia fired more than 20 cruise missiles and two drones at Ukraine early Friday, killing at least 23 people, almost all of them when two missiles slammed into an apartment building in a terrifying nighttime attack, officials said. Three children were among the dead.

The missile attacks included the first one against Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, in nearly two months, although there were no reports of any targets hit. The city government said Ukraine’s air force intercepted 11 cruise missiles and two unmanned aerial vehicles over Kyiv.

The strikes on the nine-story residential building in central Ukraine occurred in Uman, a city located around 215 kilometers (134 miles) south of Kyiv.

In recent years, the Breslov hasidic community in Uman has become a vibrant center of spirituality and devotion for Jews from all around the world. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov is buried in the city, attracting tens of thousands of Jewish visitors each year.

Israel’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, condemned the vicious attack on a city that has unique “religious and cultural meaning for Jews around the world.”

A physician who is a member of the local Jewish emergency response organization, who lives in the residential building that was hit, was reportedly unharmed, in what was described as “miraculous.”

Twenty-one people died in that attack, according to Ukraine’s National Police. They included two 10-year-old children and a toddler.

Another of the victims was a 75-year-old woman who lived in a neighboring building and suffered internal bleeding from the huge blast’s shock wave, according to emergency personnel at the scene.

The Ukrainian national police said 17 people were wounded and three children were rescued from the rubble. Nine were hospitalized.

The bombardment was nowhere near the war’s sprawling front lines or active combat zones in eastern Ukraine, where a grinding war of attrition has taken hold. Moscow has frequently launched long-range missile attacks during the 14-month war, often indiscriminately hitting civilian areas.

#RussiaIsATerroristState pic.twitter.com/goXNmKYsAw

— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) April 28, 2023

Ukrainian officials and analysts have alleged such strikes are part of a deliberate intimidation strategy by the Kremlin.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the long-range cruise missiles launched overnight were aimed at places where Ukrainian military reserve units were staying before their deployment to the battlefield.

“The strike has achieved its goal. All the designated facilities have been hit,” Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Defense Ministry’s spokesperson, said. He didn’t mention any specific areas or residential buildings getting hit.

Survivors of the Uman strikes recounted terrifying moments as the missiles hit when it still was dark outside.

Three body bags lay next to the building as smoke continued to billow hours after the attack. Soldiers, civilians and emergency crews searched through the rubble outside for more victims, while residents dragged belongings out of the damaged building.

Yulia Norovkova, spokeswoman for emergency rescue crews on the scene, said local volunteers were helping nearly 150 emergency personnel. Two aid stations, including psychologists, were operating, she said.

A 31-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter were also killed in the eastern city of Dnipro in another attack, regional Governor Serhii Lysak said. Four people were wounded, and a private home and business were damaged.

Zelensky, Chinese leader have ‘long, meaningful’ talk

The attacks came days after President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a “long and meaningful” phone call where Xi said his government will send a peace envoy to Ukraine and other nations.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Friday’s bombardment showed the Kremlin isn’t interested in a peace deal.

“Missile strikes killing innocent Ukrainians in their sleep, including a two-year-old child, is Russia’s response to all peace initiatives,” he tweeted. “The way to peace is to kick Russia out of Ukraine.”

Czech President Petr Pavel, on a visit to Ukraine, was unconvinced by the Kremlin’s past denials of responsibility for such bloodshed.

“The number of attacks on civilian targets leads to an only conclusion that it is intentional,” Pavel told Czech media. “It’s a clear plan intended to cause chaos, horrors among the civilian population.”

Shortly after Moscow unleashed the barrage, the Russian Defense Ministry posted a photo on Telegram showing a missile launch and saying, “Right on target.”

The message triggered outrage among Ukrainians on social media and some officials, who viewed it as gloating over the casualties.

“The Ministry of Homicide of the Russian Federation is happy that it hit a residential building with a rocket and killed civilians,” said Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office.

In Kyiv, fragments from intercepted missiles or drones damaged power lines and a road in one neighborhood. No casualties were reported.

In Ukrainka, a town about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Kyiv, debris from shot down missiles or drones left holes in the walls of some apartment buildings, and a smashed pink stroller in the street.

“It feels like this nightmare has been going on for two years, but I still can’t wake up,” local resident Olena, 62, said. She asked for her surname not to be used, saying her son lived in a sensitive military area.

Ukraine officials said last week that they had taken delivery of American-made Patriot missiles, providing Kyiv with a long-sought new shield against Russian airstrikes, but there was no word on whether the system was used Friday.

The city’s anti-aircraft system was activated, according to the Kyiv City Administration. Air raid sirens started at about 4 a.m., and the alert ended about two hours later.

In a statement on Friday, the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak appealed to Israel for more support and weapons, The Jerusalem Post reported.

“The latest chapter in Russia’s war crimes epidemic has seen missiles rain down indiscriminately on civilians as they slept in the holy city of Uman,” he said.

“So far, 18 people have been killed. Among them are three children, and the numbers are climbing. All Israelis – those who visit Uman” – where thousands of Israelis visit the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov each Rosh Hashana – “and those who never have but know what missiles raining down on civilians feels like, should take note.

“There is a new genocide in Europe and it is being executed by the Kremlin. Israel should use this moment to step up anti-missile and anti-drone support to Ukraine and help protect civilians from Russia’s war of aggression,” Yermak said.

Uman. 23 dead, including 5 children.

We need more support, more weapons to stop the Russian missile rain. Russia kills civilians everywhere, even in the holy city of Uman.

We need more support from Israel. Said it to @Jerusalem_Post.https://t.co/3DtDobKPZq

— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) April 29, 2023

The missile attack was the first on the capital since March 9. Air defenses have thwarted Russian drone attacks more recently.

The missiles were fired from aircraft operating in the Caspian Sea region, according to Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander in Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

Overall, he said, Ukraine intercepted 21 of 23 Kh-101 and Kh-555 type cruise missiles launched, as well as the two drones.

The war largely ground to a halt over the winter, becoming a war of attrition as each side has shelled the other’s positions from a distance. Ukraine has been building up its mechanized brigades with armor supplied by its Western allies, who have also been training Ukrainian troops and sending ammunition, as Kyiv eyes a possible counteroffensive.

Meanwhile, the Moscow-appointed mayor of the Russia-held city of Donetsk, Alexei Kulemzin, said a Ukrainian rocket killed seven civilians in the center of the city Friday. He said the victims died when a minibus was hit.

World Israel News contributed to this report.

Israel-Ukraine relationsRussia UkraineVolodymyr Zelensky