Strike on Chernihiv: two teenage girls killed, truce holds in southern Ukraine

Strike on Chernihiv

Two teenage girls have been killed in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv as a result of a Russian strike. Euronews reports this citing footage from the scene: firefighters were extinguishing burning cars and fires in damaged buildings, rescuers were helping the wounded among the rubble, one person was being carried to an ambulance, and another body lay under a blanket near the site of the strike.

The missile used and the damage

According to the local military administration, the attack was carried out with a Banderol cruise missile — a relatively inexpensive jet-powered weapon capable of loitering before hitting its target. The strike damaged businesses, residential buildings and cars.

Local truce near Oleshky

The strike on Chernihiv came against the backdrop of another development: a separate truce, agreed with US mediation in southern Ukraine, is reportedly holding in the area of the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in the Kherson region. The Ukrainian and Russian human rights commissioners said on Wednesday that the local truce has already lasted more than 30 hours without incidents. Russia's Defence Ministry published images which, it claims, show military engineers clearing mines near Oleshky; the date of the footage was not specified.

Goals of the truce

The operation near Oleshky is intended to open routes for humanitarian aid and allow residents who wish to leave to evacuate the city. According to available information, about 2,000 people remain there, where food, water and medicine have been in short supply for several months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the respite but said that the evacuation of civilians would be the key condition for the truce's success.