(Corrects spelling of location in dateline)
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (Reuters) -Three people were killed and 16 hurt in a Russian missile strike that destroyed a private clinic in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday, and many more were trapped under the rubble, officials said.
Rescuers continued working in piles of waste from the collapsed building after the strike on the city centre, searching for at least eight more people, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said on the Telegram messaging app.
People were being helped out of the badly damaged building. One person was in a severe condition, and two medics were among the injured, according to Fedorov.
Anna Zubchenko, a 26-year-old ophthalmologist, was working in her cabinet when the attack happened.
“I didn’t hear (an explosion), the ceiling just collapsed onto my head. Another doctor was with me, she was hit harder, once I dug myself out I started shouting ‘please help’, Zubchenko said.
She helped to partially dig out her colleague who was evacuated by rescuers later. She said she was “even more scared by the silence” since nobody was shouting around.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the strike “brutal” and issued a fresh appeal for allies to supply Ukraine with air defences.
“The world has enough systems to do that. The matter depends entirely on political decisions: decisions by the U.S. administration, European leaders, and other partners around the world,” he said on X, adding that Ukraine provided allies with the list of necessary items.
Russia, which launched its all-out war in Ukraine in Feb. 2022, regularly carries out strikes on Zaporizhzhia and the surrounding region. On Friday, an attack on the city killed 10 people and wounded more than 20.
