A Russian missile hit the Rykarts Hotel in Zaporizhia, Ukraine, Thursday. At least one person was killed and several others, including children, were injured. A terrifying photo shows the missile flying over a family and children shuffling just before the explosion.
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The United Nations Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, strongly condemned the Russian missile attack on the hotel. “An attack on a hotel often used by United Nations staff to help victims of war is completely unacceptable,” Brown wrote in a statement on the United Nations website.
According to the city authorities, the Rikartz Hotel was hit by an Iskander missile on Thursday evening. One person died and 14 others, including children, were injured. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense indicated in a tweet on Twitter that the hotel houses a nursery. However, the facility was not closed until the time of impact, so casualties were relatively limited.
Humanitarian law
The United Nations said it had used the hotel in the past, among other things, to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steel plant in the Russian-occupied port city of Mariupol. According to the organization, attacks on this civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law. Brown called on Russia to “immediately stop indiscriminate attacks on Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, Russia claimed that the attack targeted “foreign mercenaries”. “In the area of the city of Zaporizhia, a temporary deployment of foreign mercenaries struck,” a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Russia has been waging an offensive war against its neighbor for more than 17 months. In addition, the Zaporizhia region has repeatedly become the target of Russian air and artillery strikes. As of Wednesday, Russian missiles have killed at least three people in the city.
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