Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has accused Russia of ‘terrorism' after the city of Vinnytsia was hit by a missile today, killing at least 20 people and injuring 52.

A missile reportedly hit a high-rise building in the city centre, severely damaging it and claiming numerous lives this morning, on Thursday, July 14.

The State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine said that as of 2:20 PM local time, they had counted 20 dead including three children, as well as 52 people injured, including three children. They also said that the work was ongoing at the site.

The Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that the Russians fired at the city with Kalibr cruise missiles launched from a submarine in the Black Sea. Ukrainian defenders managed to shoot down two rockets.

The footage shows the aftermath of the attack, with the severely damaged building still smoking and in ruins, as well as numerous cars in front of it destroyed. Bodies can be seen being removed from the building on stretchers.

Other images also show people being removed from the area on stretchers while emergency services work to search for survivors among debris in what appears to be a large residential building.

One piece of footage shows how debris can be seen scattered far and wide, with smoke rising in the distance from where the missile hit. Firefighters can be seen arriving on the scene.

Vinnytsia is a city in west-central Ukraine, far from the front lines.
President Zelensky said at about 11 am on Thursday, July 14: ‘Vinnytsia. Rocket strikes in the city center. There are wounded and dead, among them a small child.

‘Every day, Russia destroys the civilian population, kills Ukrainian children, directs rockets at civilian objects. Where there is nothing military. What is this, if not an open act of terrorism?

‘Inhumans. A killer country. A terrorist country.'

The SES of Ukraine said: ‘The murderous country launched rocket attacks directly into the crowded center of Vinnytsia, as a result of which a parking lot near the Yuvileynyi House of Life was hit, and the medical diagnostic center was also partially destroyed.

‘Video from today's tragedy in Vinnytsia, which took the lives of twelve Ukrainians, including a small child.

‘At the scene of the tragedy, about a hundred rescuers, dog handlers and psychologists are working.'

And the National Police of Ukraine have said that about 90 people had sought medical assistance so far, with over fifty people in described as being in a serious condition.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is calling a ‘special military operation'.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and July 14, Russia had lost about 37,870 personnel, 1,667 tanks, 3,852 armoured combat vehicles, 840 artillery units, 247 multiple launch rocket systems, 109 air defence systems, 219 warplanes, 188 helicopters, 681 drones, 155 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 2,720 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 67 units of special equipment.

Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and the United Nations have concluded a deal to resume exporting Ukrainian grain, with a monitoring and coordination centre being set up in Istanbul.

A traffic jam made up of more than 130 cargo ships that are loaded with Ukrainian grain is waiting in the Black Sea to pass into the Danube River.
Grain shipments via the River Danube have increased, with a canal being reopened. An increased number of foreign ships are now able to reach Ukrainian ports to help export grain.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has ruled out giving any territory to Russia as part of any ceasefire deal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia has forcibly removed nearly 2 million people from the country. US secretary of state Antony Blinken called for an immediate halt to Russian deportations of Ukrainian citizens.

The UK Ministry of Defence has said that ‘the urban areas of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk likely remain the principal objectives' of the Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.

Lithuania's foreign ministry has said that it will allow sanctioned Russian goods to transit through its territory on their way to Russia's Kaliningrad exclave.