- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
- Macron to host Ukraine's Zelensky after meeting Ukrainian troops
- Root says 'many more to get' after England Test runs landmark
- India pile up World Cup high to rout Sri Lanka
- One year later, Israeli hostage family learns of loss
- Texans receiver Collins, Pats' safety Peppers out for NFL clash
- Biden-Netanyahu talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- Musk's X available again in Brazil after 40-day ban
- Reddy stars as India crush Bangladesh to clinch T20 series
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
- Arch rivals Ghana, Nigeria drawn together in CHAN qualifying
- AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins
- Trump lauds India's Modi as 'total killer'
- Wall Street, Europe rise as Chinese shares tumble
- Hunkering down for Hurricane Milton at Disney -- but first, a few rides
- Reddy, Rinku power India to 221-9 in second Bangladesh T20
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
'Revenge': Russia strike breaks eerie quiet in Mykolaiv
Several days of calm in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv came to an abrupt end around breakfast-time Tuesday, when a Russian missile tore through a government building, killing seven people.
AFP journalists saw dust-covered rescue workers pull two bodies from the debris: one of a man in uniform and the other of an elderly woman, which they covered in a green sheet.
But military spokesman Dmitriy Pletenchuk said later Tuesday that all those killed had been civilians.
Governor Vitaly Kim confirmed that the regional government office had been targeted.
"Most people escaped miraculously," he wrote on Facebook.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Danish lawmakers in a video address: "As far as we know now, seven people were killed, 22 were wounded, and people are still going through the rubble."
Donald, a retired Canadian postal worker with Ukrainian residency, told AFP he was having breakfast in his flat when the strike hit.
"I heard a whoosh, then a boom and my windows rattled," the 69-year-old said.
"It's scary. We have been lucky here in Mykolaiv. We haven't had that many explosions in the centre of the city," he added.
The tall administrative building was left with a large section torn away, rows of windows blown out and its base surrounded by large chunks of concrete.
On the eighth floor, a desk and shelves appeared intact on a strip of flooring still attached to what remained of the building, while the rest of the office had collapsed.
By the afternoon, most of the rescue teams had quit the site and mechanical diggers were moving in to clear the rubble.
- Assessing the damage -
In the aftermath of the attack, the cloudless spring sky was visible through the massive hole left in the building.
Mykolaiv is a key city on the road to Odessa, Ukraine's biggest port, and its capture would be significant for Russia.
The port city had seen fierce fighting on its outskirts since Moscow launched its invasion late last month. But in recent days, it had been quiet -- until Tuesday morning.
The Russian army had fallen back southeastwards towards Kherson, the only major Ukrainian city over which it claims complete control -- and now the focus of a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Outside a residential complex near the stricken building, people shaken by the blast -- some still in nightgowns or pyjamas -- gathered in the courtyard to exchange information about the attack and observe the damage.
Yelena Dovgykh, 65, said she had been making breakfast when she heard the strike.
"I went down just as I was," she said, wearing slippers.
"I took my papers and my dog," she told AFP, carrying her pet and a plastic bag with documents under her arm.
Svetlana Fedorenko cut her hand picking up broken glass from her balcony and living room kitchen. But she has known worse, the resident insisted.
Viktor Gaivonenko, a neighbour who came to help her clean up the debris, railed against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Putin is a bastard. That's all there is to it," he said.
- 'He wants revenge' -
Fedorenko said she thought he was targeting the regional governor and Zelensky because "they boost the morale of the people and our soldiers".
"He wants to get revenge for the resistance Mykolaiv is putting up that's blocking him from reaching Odessa," she added.
Kim, the governor, appeared to agree.
Russian forces "realised they couldn't take Mykolaiv and decided to say hello to me, to say hello to all of us," he wrote after the strike, adding that his own office had been destroyed.
Just a day earlier, residents marked the 78th anniversary of the liberation of Mykolaiv from the Nazis by Soviet Red Army troops towards the end of World War II.
"We drove out the Nazis in 1944," Ukraine's defence ministry said this week to mark the occasion.
"We will not give the Russian fascists a chance in 2022."
L.Miller--AMWN