Footage released by Ukrainian officials shows large plumes of black smoke rising into the sky above a university after it was reportedly hit, along with another university in the city, by at least 10 Russian missiles. The images were taken by Mykolaiv regional governor Vitaly Kim, 41, who said (in English): “This morning, the terrorist country Russia bombed Mykolaiv again. Firing at least 10 missiles into the city. “The two biggest universities in the city were hit, now they are attacking our education. “I ask the universities of all democratic countries to declare Russia what it really is – a terrorist country.” Footage released by Ukrainian officials shows large plumes of black smoke rising into the sky above a university in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, after it was reportedly hit, along with another university in the city, by at least 10 Russian missiles. @vitalij_kim/Zenger The video was also broadcast by the Ukrainian government organization Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, along with a statement saying: “Around 8 am more than 10 loud explosions were heard in the city. This was announced by the mayor of Mykolayiv. Oleksandr Sienkovic”. “The Russians attacked two of the biggest universities in the city,” Vitaly Kim, governor of the Mykolaiv region, said later. “At this time, two people are known to have been injured as a result of the attack.” It is currently unclear which two universities were hit in the city. The city of Mykolaiv has three major universities: Sukhomlynskyi Mykolaiv National University, Mykolayiv State Agrarian University and Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding. According to Ukrainian media, Admiral Makarov National Shipbuilding University is one of the two universities affected. Zenger News reached out to the governor of Mykolayiv for further comment, as well as the Russian Defense Ministry, but had not received a response at the time of writing. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation”. July 16 marks the 143rd day of the invasion. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and July 15, Russia had lost approximately 38,000 personnel, 1,672 tanks, 3,866 armored fighting vehicles, 842 artillery units, 247 multiple launch missile systems, 109 air defense systems, 220 war plans, 188 helicopters, 681 drones, 155 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 2,731 motor vehicles and fuel tankers and 67 units of special equipment. Other developments in the Russia-Ukraine war: At least 23 people, including three children, were killed and 117 others injured when Russian missiles hit the center of the city of Vinnytsia in west-central Ukraine, far from the front lines. The State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine announced that it is searching for 39 people who are currently missing and another 34 are in serious condition. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as an “open act of terrorism”. The United States and more than 40 other countries have agreed to coordinate their investigations into suspected Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Forty-five countries, including European Union countries, as well as the US, UK, Canada, Mexico and Australia signed a declaration at a conference in The Hague on Thursday, agreeing to cooperate. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Russia’s war in Ukraine is the biggest threat to the global economy. He added that representatives of the Russian regime “have no place” at the G20 meeting in Indonesia. Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister, said Kyiv was “definitely one step closer” to being able to export grain through its Black Sea ports after talks with Russia, Turkey and the United Nations. The US-based Institute for the Study of War said Russia had begun “volunteer mobilisations” to deal with troop shortages, saying Moscow had “likely ordered Russian ‘federal subjects’ (regions) to form volunteer battalions to participate in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, rather than declare partial or full mobilization in Russia.” This story was reported to Newsweek by Zenger News.
