Ukraine says Russia kills 19 in Kryvyi Rih, Moscow says it was targeting military

KRYVYI RIH, Ukraine (Reuters) -A Russian attack killed at least 19 people including nine children in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Friday, local officials said, but Russia's Defence Ministry said it targeted a military gathering there.

The Ukrainian military denounced the Russian statement as misinformation.

Serhiy Lysak, the regional governor, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that a missile hit residential areas, killing 18, and sparked fires. Later, Russian drones attacked homes and killed one person, Oleksandr Vilkul, the city's military administrator, said.

Pictures posted online showed bodies of the dead and wounded lying on the pavement as grey smoke rose into the sky.

Russia's Defence Ministry, in a post on Telegram, said a "high-precision strike" had targeted "a meeting of unit commanders and Western instructors" in a restaurant.

"As a result of the strike, enemy losses total up to 85 servicemen and officers of foreign countries, as well as up to 20 vehicles," the ministry said on Telegram.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who took office in January after pledging he would end the war in 24 hours, has sought to broker an end to the conflict. The U.S. said last week it had agreed with Russia and Ukraine two ceasefire accords, including one that would halt strikes on each other's energy infrastructure.

Rescue workers toiled through the night with flashlights in Kryvyi Rih, moving around wrecked cars, buildings with shattered windows and a gaping crater. Residents carried armloads of foil and timber for emergency home repairs, according to a Reuters eyewitness.

Using their mobile phones for light, some people registered at help centres.

"There were dead children lying there, crying parents, it was horrible," Yulia, 47, told Reuters as she surveyed the damaged blinds, fixtures and furniture in her apartment.

The strike on President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's hometown was one of Moscow's deadliest this year in the conflict, launched with the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

At least 50 people were wounded, the emergency services said, adding that the figure was growing. More than 30 people, including a three-month-old baby, were in hospital, Lysak said.

Russia denies targeting civilians, but thousands have been killed and injured in the invasion.

The General Staff of Ukraine's military said the attack showed that Russia "is in no way seeking peace, but rather intends to continue its invasion and war to destroy Ukraine and all Ukrainians."

In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy called on the West to exert greater pressure on Moscow.

On Friday, each side accused the other again of flouting the energy-infrastructure ceasefire.

Russia's Defence Ministry accused Ukraine of attacking Russian energy facilities six times in the past 24 hours.

Zelenskiy said Russia had launched a drone attack on a thermal power plant in Ukraine's city of Kherson on Friday.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Alex Richardson, Rod Nickel, Ron Popeski, David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman)