Kiev: At least nine people were killed in Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian cities on Wednesday, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, who claimed the attacks proved Moscow had no interest in pursuing peace.

Emergency services reported on Facebook that two dormitories and a college were struck in Rzhyshchiv, 40 miles (64 km) south of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, in a series of early-morning drone strikes, resulting in at least eight fatalities and seven injuries.

Four people were reportedly trapped under the rubble, and one person was rescued from the scene. Rescue operations were continuing on Wednesday night.
A five-story dorm had a gaping hole in the top floor from the attack. According to a Reuters witness, there was a pile of debris where a portion of another building once stood.

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An ambulance driver who responded to the scene, according to regional police chief Andrii Nebytov, was among the fatalities. A few hours later, a missile attack on the city of Zaporizhzhia in the southeast resulted in damage to two residential buildings. According to officials, 33 people were hospitalised while one person died.

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Of the 21 Iranian-made Shahed drones fired by Russia, the Ukrainian military claimed to have destroyed 16 of them. In an apparent reference to Chinese leader Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia, which ended on Wednesday, Zelensky wrote on Twitter that "every time someone tries to hear the word 'peace' in Moscow, another order is given there for such criminal strikes." The attack on Zaporizhzhia was called "bestial savagery" by Zelensky.

Thirteen months ago, Russia invaded its neighbour Ukraine, and since then, it has launched numerous airstrikes. As part of what it refers to as a "special military operation," Russia claims to be focusing on infrastructure in order to eliminate what it sees as a threat to its own security. Moscow is accused of launching an unprovoked war to seize territory by Ukraine and its allies. Because they were in bomb shelters, the majority of the residents of the dormitories were saved, according to police chief Nebytov.

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A town resident named Viktoria reported hearing the first explosion at 2 in the morning. "After that first explosion, I woke up, and when I went outside, I heard another Shahed. She remarked, "It flew very low. "And then there was another explosion, and a fire had already started from the first explosion... Thirdly, something passed by.

A Rzhyshchiv College employee, who gave her name as Svitlana, said the students clearly knew what to do after the explosions occurred. The kids called, so we responded by coming here and transporting them to our homes.

And after that, we sent them home," she said. "The kids were in the shelter, and they behaved themselves." The Tornado-S multiple rocket launch system was likely used by Russia to carry out the Zaporizhzhia attack, according to air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat.