Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin’s forces launch missile strike on Chernihiv, killing 7 and injuring 129

Ukraine has said that a Russian missile strike in the northern city of Chernihiv has killed seven people and injured 129 others. Around 15 children and 15 police officers were among the dead following the strike, which hit a central square in the historic city, about 92 miles northeast of the capital, Kyiv , as locals walked to church to celebrate a religious holiday. Mr Zelensky confirmed the news while on a visit to Sweden on Saturday.  ‘An ordinary Saturday, which Russia turned into a day of pain and loss,’ he wrote on the Telegram messaging service. Earlier, Kyiv said it shot down 15 Russian drones overnight as the Kremlin targeted sites across Ukraine. Ukraine’s Air Force said Vladimir Putin ‘s troops used Iranian-made Shahed drones to attack targets in the country’s central, northern and western regions. Seventeen drones were launched in total, Ukraine said, and it was not immediately clear what happened to the other two. Key Points Seven killed in Chernihiv missile strike Putin visits top military brass in Rostov-on-Don Ukraine shoots down 15 Russian drones Lavrov warns of ‘direct armed confrontation of nuclear powers’ Moscow building damaged in drone attack Seven killed in Chernihiv missile strike 13:32 , Sonal Hayat Seven people including a 6-year-old child were killed and 90 wounded when a Russian missile struck a central square in the historic northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, the interior ministry said on Saturday. People had been on their way to church to celebrate a religious holiday when the strike took place, the ministry said, adding 12 of the wounded were children and 10 were police officers. “A Russian missile hit right in the centre of the city, in our Chernihiv. A square, the polytechnic university, a theatre,” President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was on a working visit to Sweden, posted on Telegram. “An ordinary Saturday, which Russia turned into a day of pain and loss,” he added. 19:30 , Matt Drake The number of troops killed or wounded in Ukraine since Russia ‘s invasion is approaching 500,000, according to US officials, in an estimate not accounting for civilian deaths. Russia’s military casualties are approaching 300,000, including up to 120,000 deaths, while Ukraine has lost 70,000 troops, with between 100,000 and 120,000 injured, according to Washington officials quoted by the New York Times. In addition, Ukraine has suffered at least 26,384 civilian casualties since the beginning of the invasion on 24 February, 2022. This is according to the latest estimates from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and includes 9,444 killed and 16,940 injured. Read the full story by Andy Gregory, Chris Stevenson and Laura Sharman below. 15 children and 15 police officers killed in rocket attack 19:16 , Matt Drake Seven people including a 6-year-old child were killed and 129 wounded when a Russian missile struck a central square in the historic northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, the interior ministry said on Saturday. People had been on their way to church to celebrate a religious holiday when the strike took place, the ministry said. Of the 129 counted as wounded in the search and rescue operation, 15 were children and 15 were police officers, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a Telegram post. Ukrainian media reported that a public event featuring drone manufacturers had been taking place inside the theatre at the time of the attack. Both sides in Russia’s 18-month-old invasion have widely used drones on the battlefield. Ukrainian rescuers walk in front of the Taras Shevchenko Chernihiv Regional Academic Music and Drama Theatre (AFP via Getty Images) Images show aftermath of Russian rocket attack 18:49 , Matt Drake Seven people including a 6-year-old child were killed and 129 wounded when a Russian missile struck a central square in the historic northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, the interior ministry said on Saturday. People had been on their way to church to celebrate a religious holiday when the strike took place, the ministry said. Of the 129 counted as wounded in the search and rescue operation, 15 were children and 15 were police officers, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a Telegram post. Pictures show debris scattered across a square in front of the regional drama theatre, where parked cars were heavily damaged. Debris in the street where a missile hit the Drama Theatre in central Chernihiv (EPA) he scene of a missile hit at the Drama Theatre in central Chernihiv (EPA) The scene of a missile hit at the Drama Theatre in central Chernihiv (EPA) Workers from the Vertel cafe hug as they start to clean up after a missile attack (Getty Images) Site of a missile strike in the centre of Chernihiv (AFP via Getty Images) Event ‘hosting drone manufacturers’ was taking place during Chernihiv attack 17:24 , Matt Drake A six-year-old child was among seven dead and more than 100 others wounded after the attack in the northern Ukrainian city. Ukrainian media reported that a public event featuring drone manufacturers was taking place inside the Chernihiv Regional Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater at the time of the strike. Interior minister Ihor Klymenko confirmed that an unspecified event had been taking place in the building at the time of the attack. A bloody scene after the attack (Getty Images) Russian attack on city main square ‘heinous’ says UN official 16:35 , Matt Drake Denise Brown, the United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, said she was “extremely disturbed” by Russia’s rocket attack in Chernihiv in which seven people were killed and more than 100 others were injured. Mrs Brown said: “It is heinous to attack the main square of a large city, in the morning, while people are out walking, some going to the church to celebrate a religious day for many Ukrainians. “I condemn this repeated pattern of Russian strikes on populated areas of Ukraine, causing deaths, massive destruction and soaring humanitarian needs.” The scene of a missile hit at the Drama Theatre in central Chernihiv (EPA) Zelensky asks for Sweden for Gripen jets on first visit since Russian invasion 15:38 , Matt Mathers Ukraine has begun discussing with Sweden the possibility of receiving Gripen jets to boost its air defences, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday after meeting Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Zelensky’s visit is his first to Sweden since Russia’s invasion in February 2022 and the talks about obtaining Gripen jets, which he cast as preliminary, follow approval from the United States for Denmark and the Netherlands to send F-16 fighters to Ukraine. “Today we discussed in detail the future steps regarding the possibility of opening the subject of receiving Swedish Gripens,” Zelensky said at a joint news briefing with Kristersson, adding that the topic would be central to his meetings with other Swedish officials. Zelenksy meets Ulf Kristersson (Getty) ICYMI: 14:30 , Matt Mathers Footage purports to show the moment a drone attack struck Moscow , Hayden Vernon reports. Russian officials accused Ukraine of launching an attack on a building in Moscow’s business district. Unverified footage on social media appeared to show an explosion next to recognisable Moscow skyscrapers. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defences had shot down the drone with its debris falling on the city’s Expo Center. Ukraine did not confirm the attack, but officials in Kyiv have never formally acknowledged launching attacks on targets in Moscow. Watch the clip below: ‘Wagner is victim of it’s own brand name’: How much of a threat does mercenary group pose in Belarus? 14:00 , Matt Mathers The newfound presence of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus , exiled from Russia after their mutinous march on Moscow, has fuelled fresh anxieties in Ukraine and on Nato ‘s eastern flank. Belarus’s neighbours have moved to a heightened state of alert since dictator Alexander Lukashenko appeared to broker a last-minute deal with the Kremlin to defuse the shortlived mutiny on 23 June and host Wagner troops on Belarusian soil. Wagner threat in Belarus explained as mercenary group ‘a victim of it’s brand name’ How much of a threat does mercenary group pose in Belarus? Andy Gregory reports: Navies of Russia and China complete joint training exercises 13:10 , Natalie Crockett Naval forces in Russia and China have completed joint patrol exercises in the Pacific Ocean, it was reported on Saturday. The three-week-long drills comprised more than 50 training and combat exercises, citing Russia’s Pacific Fleet, Interfax news agency said. The Russian vessels are now crossing the East China Sea en route to China’s port of Qingdao, it added. 12:35 , Natalie Crockett Russian warplane damaged in Ukrainian drone attack on airfield, Moscow says A Ukrainian drone strike on a military airfield in Russia’s Novgorod region, caused a fire damaging a warplane, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday. Nobody was hurt and the blaze fire was quickly extinguished at the airfield, which lies in a region northwest of Moscow, it said. ‘As a result of the terrorist attack on the territory of the airfield, a fire broke out in the parking lot of aircraft, which was quickly eliminated by firefighters. One aircraft was damaged,’ the ministry said in a statement. Drone air strikes deep inside Russia have increased in recent months. One smashed into a building in central Moscow on Friday after Russian air defences shot it down, disrupting air traffic at all civilian airports of the Russian capital. Ukraine typically does not comment on who is behind attacks on Russian territory or Crimea, although officials have publicly expressed satisfaction over them. Five dead and dozens injured in Russian drone strike on Chernihiv 11:53 , Natalie Crockett Five people have died and 37 wounded, including 11 children, have been injured in a Russian missile strike on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, the interior ministry said on Saturday. People had been on their way to church to celebrate a religious holiday when a central square in the city was hit, the ministry said. President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was on a working visit to Sweden, said in a message posted on Telegram: ‘A Russian missile hit right in the centre of the city, in our Chernihiv. A square, the polytechnic university, a theatre.’ ‘An ordinary Saturday, which Russia turned into a day of pain and loss,’ he added. A video accompanying Zelensky’s post showed debris scattered across a square in front of the regional drama theatre, where parked cars were heavily damaged. ‘Wagner is victim of it’s own brand name’ 11:00 , Natalie Crockett The newfound presence of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus , exiled from Russia after their mutinous march on Moscow, has fuelled fresh anxieties in Ukraine and on Nato ‘s eastern flank. Belarus’s neighbours have moved to a heightened state of alert since dictator Alexander Lukashenko appeared to broker a last-minute deal with the Kremlin to defuse the shortlived mutiny on 23 June and host Wagner troops on Belarusian soil. During a recent meeting at the strategically important Suwalki Gap, a sparsely populated land corridor near their countries’ borders with Belarus and Russia’s enclave of Kaliningrad, Lithuania’s president Gitanas Nauseda warned that north of 4,000 mercenaries were believed to be in Belarus, while Poland ‘s premier Mateusz Morawiecki branded them ‘extremely dangerous’. Read more from Andy Gregory here: Wagner threat in Belarus explained as mercenary group ‘a victim of it’s brand name’ Fatalities reported after Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s Chernihiv – Zelensky 10:54 , Matt Mathers Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that people had been killed and wounded after a Russian missile struck a central square in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv. “A Russian missile hit right in the center of the city, in our Chernihiv. A square, the polytechnic university, a theater,” he posted on Telegram along with footage of the aftermath. “An ordinary Saturday, which Russia turned into a day of pain and loss. There are dead, there are wounded.” Zelensky did not specify the number of casualties. File photo: Volodymyr Zelensky (EPA) ICYMI: 10:21 , Matt Mathers Separate Russian courts on Friday ordered the liquidation of a human rights organization that preserved the legacy of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov and the arrest of a prominent election monitor, in the latest moves in a widespread crackdown on dissent. Sakharov, who died in 1989, was a key figure in developing the Soviet Union’s hydrogen bomb program but later become renowned for his activism in promoting human rights and freedom of conscience. He was awarded the Nobel prize in 1975 but was not allowed to travel to Norway to receive it. In 1980 he was sent into internal exile, which lasted six years. Jim Heintz reports: Zelensky to visit Sweden and meet with PM, royals 09:47 , Matt Mathers Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Sweden today and meet with the country’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson. The Ukraine president will also meet with Sweden’s royal family and other officials to thank them for supporting his country during Russia’s invasion. ‘Our primary task is the strengthening of Ukrainian warriors on the ground and in the sky, the development of bilateral cooperation, in particular in the defence industry, Ukraine’s European integration and common security in the Euro-Atlantic space,’ he wrote in a Telegram post announcing his arrival. File photo: Volodymyr Zelensky (POOL/AFP via Getty Images) 09:22 , Matt Mathers The number of troops killed or wounded in Ukraine since Russia ‘s invasion is approaching 500,000, according to US officials, in an estimate not accounting for civilian deaths. Russia’s military casualties are approaching 300,000, including up to 120,000 deaths, while Ukraine has lost 70,000 troops, with between 100,000 and 120,000 injured, according to Washington officials quoted by the New York Times. In addition, Ukraine has suffered at least 26,384 civilian casualties since the beginning of the invasion on 24 February, 2022. Andy Gregory, Chris Stevenson and Laura Sharman report: Putin visits top military brass in Rostov-on-Don 08:37 , Matt Mathers President Vladimir Putin visited the commander of Russia’s operation in Ukraine and other top military brass, the Kremlin said on Saturday, a meeting that came after Ukraine claimed counteroffensive gains on the southeastern front. “Vladimir Putin held a meeting at the headquarters of the special military operation group in Rostov-on-Don,” the Kremlin said in a statement. Russia, which launched its invasion in Ukraine in February 2022, calls its actions a special military operation. The Kremlin added that Putin, Russia’s supreme commander-in-chief, listened to reports from Valery Gerasimov,