Zelensky issues fresh weapons plea after 7 killed in Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia region

CNN — 

At least 7 people, including children, were killed and at least 31 injured after Russia launched a missile strike on the town of Vilniansk in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region on Saturday, according to Ukrainian officials.

“[Today] is a day of mourning in Zaporizhzhia region for those killed in the enemy attack on Vilniansk,” Ivan Fedorov, the head of Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said on Sunday. “There is unspeakable pain.”

Three children were among those killed and eight children were among the injured, Fedorov said.

The attack damaged critical infrastructure, as well as a retail store and residential buildings, he said Saturday. Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said trade pavilions, households and vehicles also caught fire as a result.

Speaking to the National Police, one local resident who witnessed the strike said: “It was a weekend, everyone was having a rest … it wasn’t even late, it wasn’t dark, a missile hit.”

She continued: “Children died, children were injured. So did adults. For no reason. The children had a graduation party, they were graduating from school. They were planning their future.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered his condolences to those who lost loved ones in the attack and appealed for more long-range weapons, saying Ukraine needs “to strike with real long-range capability and to increase the number of advanced air defense systems in Ukraine.”