Rescue hopes fade after Russian attack in Ukraine's Dnipro, dozens feared dead - Reuters

DNIPRO, Ukraine, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Ukraine saw small anticipation of pulling immoderate much survivors from the rubble of an flat artifact successful the metropolis of Dnipro connected Sunday, a time aft the gathering was deed during a large Russian rocket attack, with dozens of radical expected to person died.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a kid was among 25 radical confirmed dormant truthful acold and 73 radical had been wounded, including 13 children. Thirty-nine radical had been rescued but a further 43 were missing, helium said connected the Telegram messaging app.

Emergency workers said they had heard radical screaming for assistance from underneath piles of debris from the nine-storey flat artifact successful the east-central metropolis and were utilizing moments of soundlessness to assistance nonstop their efforts. Freezing temperatures added to rescuers' concerns.

A radical of firefighters recovered a lightly-dressed pistillate inactive live much than 18 hours aft the attack. They carried her to information successful their arms. Dozens of grim-faced residents, some young and old, watched successful fearfulness from the street.

A assemblage had earlier been retrieved by firefighters and lifted from the ruins connected a stretcher utilizing a crane.

"The chances of redeeming radical present are minimal," Dnipro's Mayor Borys Filatov told Reuters. I deliberation the fig of dormant volition beryllium successful the dozens."

Ukraine's Air Force said the flat artifact was struck by a Russian Kh-22 missile, which is known to beryllium inaccurate and that Ukraine lacks the aerial defences to sprout down. The Soviet-era rocket was developed during the Cold War to destruct warships.

Filatov said 2 stairwells including dozens of flats were destroyed.

Russia fired 2 waves of missiles astatine Ukraine connected Saturday, striking targets crossed the state arsenic warring raged connected the battlefield successful the eastbound towns of Soledar and Bakhmut.

Moscow, which invaded past February, has been pounding Ukraine's vigor infrastructure with missiles and drones since October, causing sweeping blackouts and disruptions to cardinal heating and moving water.

In a connection connected Sunday astir its erstwhile time of strikes, the Russian defence ministry did not notation Dnipro arsenic a circumstantial target.

"All assigned objects were hit. The targets of the onslaught person been achieved," it said.

Rescuers toiled done the nighttime searching for survivors. On Sunday morning, they could beryllium seen punching and kicking done heaped mounds of smashed factual and twisted metal.

"Two rooms connected the 2nd level stay practically intact but buried," Oleh Kushniruk, a lawman manager of the determination subdivision of Ukraine's State Emergency Service, said connected television.

A spokesperson for Ukraine's confederate bid said Russia had fired lone fractional of the cruise missiles it had deployed to the Black Sea during Saturday's attacks.

"This indicates that they inactive person definite plans," said the spokesperson, Natalia Humeniuk. "We indispensable recognize that they tin inactive beryllium used."

APPEAL FOR MORE WEAPONS

In his nightly code aft the strike, Zelenskiy called connected Western allies to proviso much weapons to extremity "Russian terror" and attacks connected civilian targets.

Saturday's onslaught came arsenic Western powers see sending conflict tanks to Kyiv and up of a gathering of Ukraine's allies successful Ramstein successful Germany adjacent Friday, wherever governments volition denote their latest pledges of subject support.

On Saturday, Britain followed France and Poland with promises of further weapons, saying it would nonstop 14 of its Challenger 2 main conflict tanks arsenic good arsenic different precocious artillery enactment successful the coming weeks.

The archetypal despatch of Western-made tanks to Ukraine is apt to beryllium viewed by Moscow arsenic escalation of the conflict. The Russian Embassy successful London said the tanks would resistance retired the confrontation.

Russia's penetration has already killed thousands, displaced millions and turned galore cities into rubble.

SOLEDAR

In Ukraine's eastbound Donbas portion - the focal constituent of Russia's thrust to seizure much territory - Ukraine's forces were battling astir the tiny salt-mining municipality of Soledar.

Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's eastbound command, told Ukrainian tv that Russian forces had shelled the country astir Soledar and Bakhmut 234 times successful the past 24 hours.

Russia said connected Friday that its forces had taken power of Soledar, which had a pre-war colonisation of 10,000, successful what would beryllium a insignificant beforehand but 1 that would person intelligence value for Russian forces, who person seen months of battlefield setbacks.

Ukraine insisted connected Saturday that its forces were battling to clasp the town, but officials acknowledged the concern was difficult, with thoroughfare warring raging and Russian forces advancing from assorted directions.

"Our soldiers are perpetually repelling force attacks, time and night," Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said connected Saturday. "The force is sustaining dense losses but is continuing to transportation retired the transgression orders of their command."

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said it was highly improbable that Ukrainian forces inactive held positions wrong Soledar itself.

Reuters could not instantly verify the concern successful the town.

Putin said what helium calls the peculiar subject cognition was showing a affirmative inclination and that helium hoped Russian soldiers would present further gains aft Soledar.

"The dynamic is positive," helium told Rossiya 1 authorities television. "Everything is processing wrong the model of the program of the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff."

Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly and Dan Peleschuk Writing by Lidia Kelly, Dan Peleschuk, Raissa Kasolowsky and Tom Balmforth Editing by William Mallard, Edwina Gibbs, Frances Kerry, Philippa Fletcher

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