Russian airstrikes in residential area kill 47 in Ukraine's Chernihiv
Flames and smoke billow from a residential building damaged by recent shelling, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues in Chernihiv, Ukraine, March 3, 2022. (Reuters Photo)


Around 47 people were killed amid Russian airstrikes in a residential district of the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv Thursday, regional authorities said Friday, updating an earlier death toll of 33.

"Russian troops launched a missile on a multistory residential area in the city center," the head of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration Viacheslav Chaus said in his Telegram channel. "Many apartment buildings were damaged, windows were broken, walls, roofs, balconies were damaged, walls and ceilings were destroyed in some places."

Rescue work had to be suspended on Thursday due to heavy shelling, according to the local emergency services.

The Regional State Administration noted that there are no military facilities nearby, only hospitals, several schools and kindergartens and dozens of high-rise buildings.

"There are NO military facilities nearby," Chaus wrote, referring to Russia's claims that its army launches attacks only on the military infrastructure of Ukraine. Russian aircraft also attacked two schools in Chernihiv and private homes.

Also, as a result of the Russian shelling of Chernihiv, one of the shells hit an oil depot in the territory of state-owned Plant Astra, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported.

In Kharkiv, more than 40 residential buildings caught fire as a result of the shelling by Russia, according to news site Fokus.