Ukrainian Official Says Russian Rocket Strike Destroys Dnipro Airport, Russia Claims Nationalist Battalion Base And Headquarters

Illustration of the impact of Russian air strikes on Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/National Police of Ukraine)

JAKARTA - Russian troops fired rockets into Ukraine's Lugansk and Dnipro regions on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said, destroying an airport and wounding at least five people.

Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of the central Dnipropetrovsk region, said emergency workers were combing through infrastructure facilities hit by the attack in the city of Zvonetsky, adding that details on casualties would be provided later.

"High-precision missiles overnight destroyed the base and headquarters of the Dnepr nationalist battalion in Zvonetsky, which also recently received reinforcements from foreign mercenaries," the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Reznichenko said on Telegram, there was also an attack on the airport in the city of Dnipro.

"The airport itself was destroyed, as well as nearby infrastructure, with rockets flying," Reznichenko said.

Reznichenko said earlier that the attack on the Dnipro had injured one person and the rocket had ignited the fire which was eventually extinguished. A missile also hit a building in the Pavlograd district, he added.

Separately, the head of the Dnipro regional council, Mykola Lukashuk, said five staff of the state emergency services had been injured by the attack at the airport.

As for Serhiy Gaidai, governor of Luhansk, the eastern region that borders Russia, wrote earlier on Telegram, a school and a high-rise apartment building had been hit in the city of Sievierodonetsk.

"Fortunately there were no casualties," Gaidai said. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.

To note, Russia has failed to capture major cities in Ukraine since the invasion on February 24, while Ukraine is anticipating the concentration of Russian troops in the east to carry out large-scale attacks, asking civilians to evacuate.