A Russian missile strike on Dnipro killed five civilians and injured 24 others on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said.
The attack hit the city shortly after Ukraine’s Air Force warned that a missile was heading towards Dnipro. An explosion was reported at around 11.30am local time, according to Ukrainian media citing regional authorities.
Dnipro is one of Ukraine’s largest cities and a major industrial, transport and administrative centre in the east-central part of the country. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, it has also served as an important rear hub for military, medical and humanitarian operations.
The regional governor initially reported four deaths and 25 injuries. The toll was later revised after a 40-year-old man died in hospital, bringing the number of fatalities to five and the number of injured to 24.
Twenty-one of the injured were taken to hospital, ten of them in serious condition. Officials said the victims suffered blast injuries, shrapnel wounds, lacerations and fractures.
Emergency services were deployed after a fire broke out at the site of the strike. Local authorities said rescue workers, police and medical teams were working at the scene.
The weapon used was described by Ukrainian police and state media as a missile. Russia has not commented on the specific strike.
The attack came a day after Russian forces hit Dnipro, damaging infrastructure and injuring one person, according to Ukrainian Pravda. Earlier this month, Russian strikes on the wider Dnipropetrovsk region killed an 11-year-old boy and injured five adults.
Dnipro has been repeatedly targeted during the war. Its position, away from the immediate front line but close to operations in eastern Ukraine, has made it strategically important and vulnerable to Russian missile and drone attacks.
Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians. Ukraine and its Western partners say Russian strikes have repeatedly hit residential areas, energy facilities, transport infrastructure and public buildings.
The latest attack is expected to add to Kyiv’s calls for additional Western air defence systems, as Russia continues missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities beyond the front line.
