Russian missile barrage on Ukraine city kills 18

Three Russian missiles crashed into the northern Ukrainian city on Wednesday,leaving pools of blood on the street at the scene of one strike, where rescueworkers searched for survivors and carried away the wounded on stretchers.
The official death toll rose to 18 as of Thursday morning, with 77 people --including four children -- injured, according to Ukraine's emergency servicesdepartment.
As President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed for more help from Western allies,the US House of Representatives finally announced a vote on a massivemilitary aid package that includes about $61 billion in long-delayed supportfor Kyiv, a move welcomed by President Joe Biden.
Chernigiv resident Olga Samoilenko told AFP she and her children foundshelter in the corridor of their apartment building after the first missileexploded.
"Our neighbours were already there. We started shouting for everyone to fallto the floor. They did. There were two more explosions. Then we ran to theparking lot," the 33-year-old said.
- Zelensky questions West's resolve -
Mayor Oleksandr Lomako said more than a dozen buildings had been damaged inthe attack, while other officials said dozens of vehicles and medical andeducational facilities were also damaged.
A 25-year-old policewoman on sick leave was among those killed aftersuffering a severe shrapnel injury, the interior minister announced.
AFP journalists at the scene saw a body being pulled from the rubble and aneight-storey hotel building gutted by the strike where municipal workers wereusing a crane to clear debris.
Nearby apartments, a beauty salon and beer shop were among structures whosewindows were blown out by the attack.
The Chernigiv region, which borders Belarus to the north, was partiallyoccupied at the beginning of the Russian invasion but has been sparedfighting for around two years since Russian forces retreated.
Zelensky blamed Russia for the attack but also said the West should do moreto help defend Ukraine's skies.
"This would not have happened if Ukraine had received sufficient air defenceequipment and if the world's determination to resist Russian terror had beensufficient," he said.
- 'Same level of defence' -
Addressing the European Council by video link later Wednesday, Zelensky saidUkraine should enjoy the same cover from aerial attacks as Israel and pleadedfor more air defence systems.
"Here in Ukraine, in our part of Europe, unfortunately, we don't have thelevel of defence that we saw recently in the Middle East," Zelensky said.
Zelensky was referring to the interception of Iran's drone and missilebarrage on Israel last Saturday.
"Our Ukrainian sky, the sky of our neighbors deserves the same level ofdefence."
The Ukrainian president added: "All lives are equally valuable."
In Washington, Biden applauded the planned vote in Congress on the massivenew Ukraine aid package, scheduled for Saturday after months of politicalwrangling, and called on American lawmakers to pass it.
"I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: 'Westand with our friends, and we won't let Iran or Russia succeed'," he said ina White House statement.
Chernigiv lies around 145 kilometres (90 miles) north of Ukraine's capital,Kyiv, and had a pre-war population of around 285,000 people, reports BSS.
The city was badly damaged when Russian tanks swept into Ukraine fromBelarusian territory in February 2022 and besieged the city until April ofthat year.