Ukraine war: Two killed, 10 injured after Russian missile strikes museum in Kupiansk

Two women was killed and 10 other peoplewere injured after a Russian missile struck a museum in the centre of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk on Tuesday (April 25). Rescue workersdug through mounds of rubble to retrieve the bodies after the museum was hit. Hitting out at Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on Telegram that"The terrorist country is doing everything to destroy us completely."

The president's chief of staff Andriy Yermak and the regional governor said the damage was caused by a Russian S-300 missile, the news agency Reuters reported.

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Taking to Telegram, Yermak shared a video showing the half-destroyed Kupiansk Local Lore Museum and military and police on the site of the strike. The museum's windows were smashed and a section of the wall and roof were destroyed.

Kupiansk, which had a population of 26,000 before the beginning of the Russian offensive, lies in the Kharkiv region. Kupiansk was an important rail hub that was occupied by Russian forces for months.

However, Ukraine pushed them out of the city in a lightning counteroffensive in September last year that also recaptured the cities of Izium and Balakliia.

This missile strike at the museum comes as Ukrainian forces are carrying out raids across the Dnipro River. TheKherson regional administration's Deputy HeadYuriy Sobolevskiy said the raids were intendedto reduce the combat capability of Russian troops who have been shelling Kherson city since being forced to retreat.

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"Our military visit the left (eastern) bank very often, conducting raids. The Ukrainian armed forces are working, and working very effectively,"Sobolevskiy told local television.

"The results will come as they did on the right bank of the Kherson region when, thanks to a complex and long operation, they were able to liberate our territories with minimal losses for our military. The same thing happens now on the left bank," the deputy head added.

Citing military analysts, Reuters reported that Ukraine was likely to launch a counteroffensive and that one of the main goals could be breaking through a southern land corridor between Russia and the Russia-annexed Crimea region.

Last week, the Institute for the Study of War said thatRussian military bloggersposted enough geolocated footage to confirm that Ukrainian forcesestablished a foothold on the eastern bank of the Dnipro.

(With inputs from agencies)

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