Russian daylight attack on eastern Ukraine kills five

Russian missile and drone strikes hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipro (Dnipro Regional Administration via AP)

A Russian missile and drone attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Wednesday killed five civilians and injured 47 others, including a 14-year-old girl, authorities said.

Blasts blew out some windows of a shopping mall, raining shards onto the street, photos published by local officials showed.

Mayor Borys Filatov said the daytime attack also shattered windows in two schools and three kindergartens. Debris struck the intensive care unit of a children’s hospital and a fire broke out in another hospital.

Dnipro. Russian terrorists have struck our city again. As of now, five people have been killed, and thirty-four injured, including a child. All necessary services are on site, and rescuers are helping all the victims.
Only two things can stop this Russian terror – modern air… pic.twitter.com/nqhPYmlbxR
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 3, 2024

A video posted on social media by President Volodymyr Zelensky showed a missile with a fiery trail streaking over buildings in Ukraine’s fourth-largest city, and debris flying into the air from its impact.

The war, now in its third year since Russia invaded its neighbour, has killed more than 10,000 civilians and wounded around 20,000 others, the United Nations says.

In the Kharkiv region in the north east, Russian shelling struck a village council building, killing one person and injuring two others, regional head Oleh Suniehubov said.

A blonde woman in a striped top and beige bag looks at damaged cars after Russia's missile attack in Dnipro. There is glass and metal covering the floor and red and white striped tape — Debris from Russia’s missile attack struck a shopping mall, two schools, three kindergartens and the intensive care unit of a children’s hospital (Dnipro Regional Administration via AP)

Elsewhere in the region, a Russian glide bomb struck a residential building in the village of Ruska Lozova, injuring at least two people. Others could be trapped under rubble, Mr Syniehubov said.

Also on Wednesday, Ukraine received 2.2 billion dollars (£1.7 billion) from the International Monetary Fund under an ongoing credit facility, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced.

The credit program foresees the disbursement of 16 billion dollars (£12.5 billion), but Ukraine must pass IMF reviews of its progress on key economic and fiscal benchmarks before each part is released.

The latest funds will be used for welfare payments and the salaries of doctors and teachers, among other things, Mr Shmyhal said.