Zaporizhzhia declares day of mourning after rocket strike on residential high-rise kills 13 people

Rescuers work at a site of a residential building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia on March 4. (Stringer/Reuters)

The city council in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia has declared Monday a day of mourning after 13 people were killed when a rocket hit a high-rise residential building earlier this week, the council’s secretary Anatoliy Kurtiev said.

“This is a great grief for the whole Zaporizhzhia. That is why tomorrow is declared a day of mourning in our city. Together, let us honor the cherished memory of everyone whose life was cut short forever on that tragic night in March,” Kurtiev said on Telegram Sunday.

Rescuers from the State Emergency Service searched for survivors for four days after the strike hit Thursday. Crews found men, women and a small child dead.

Nine people, including one pregnant woman, were rescued from the rubble early Thursday, the State Emergency Service reported. Five others remain missing, Kurtiev said.

“Let’s also thank the rescuers of the State Emergency Service who have been clearing the rubble for almost four days, day and night, without a break. They are our heroes. We bow to them,” he said.

Kurtiev added that a city council meeting will be held Monday with the surviving residents of the affected building.