Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia strike toll rises to 6

ZAPORIZHZHIA

Rescuers were working on Wednesday to find people under the rubble of a building destroyed in a Russian attack that killed six people the day before, Ukrainian officials said.

The attack that destroyed a medical clinic and an office building in Zaporizhzhia on Dec. 10 was the latest in an intensifying series of strikes on southern Ukraine, reinforcing fears of a new Russian offensive in the area.

"The death toll has risen to six people," the Interior Ministry said on social media.

"As many as five people may be trapped under the rubble. Police, rescuers, volunteers and relevant city services continue to work at the scene," it added.

Another 22 people were wounded in the attack, including a five-year-old girl, according to the ministry, which published a photo of an ambulance next to a destroyed building.

Zaporizhzhia is one of the four Ukrainian regions Moscow claimed to have annexed in 2022, without fully controlling it.

In mid-November, the Ukrainian army warned that Russia was building up infantry and armored vehicles while stepping up aerial bombardments ahead of planned attacks along Ukraine's southern front.

Escalated fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region would pose a significant threat to Ukrainian forces, which are losing ground in the eastern Donetsk region and in the Russian border region of Kursk.

Ukraine has been pleading for more support from its allies to help it fend off Russian troops on the battlefield and daily aerial attacks.

President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated that call in his daily address after the strike on Zaporizhzhia.

"We don't have enough systems to protect our country from Russian missiles. But our partners have these systems. Again and again, we repeat that air defense should save lives, not gather dust in warehouses," he said.

Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Dec. 10 said that peace talks on ending Russia's war in Ukraine could begin this winter.

Tusk, whose country is a staunch backer of neighboring Ukraine and next month will take over the rotating EU presidency, also announced a series of upcoming talks with foreign officials.

He said that he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and would welcome French President Emmanuel Macron to Poland today, a visit Macron's office later confirmed.

"Our [EU] presidency will notably be co-responsible for what the political landscape will look like, perhaps how the situation will look during [peace] negotiations, which could begin, though there are still question marks, in the winter of this year," Tusk told reporters.

Poland has been a strong Ukraine supporter since Russia invaded nearly three years ago.

The EU and NATO member serves as a crucial logistics hub for Western military aid to Kiev.