In his evening address, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed confidence that Ukrainian soldiers would give a tangible response to Russia's terrorist attack on Chernihiv on 19 August.
"Today, various leaders, representatives of states and international organisations have condemned another extremely vile Russian attack on Ukraine, on our Chernihiv. I am grateful to each and every person in the world who has expressed their condolences to Ukraine and our people. Unfortunately, seven people were killed in Chernihiv by a missile. Among them was a girl, her name was Sofia, she was six years old... My condolences to the families! There are 144 wounded and injured, including 15 children. The missile hit the centre of the city on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, an Orthodox holiday," the president said.
He noted that a total of 140 people were involved in the rescue operation: medics, emergency services, military, local authorities. He thanked everyone who saved lives.
Zelenskyy particularly noted emergency paramedics Lyudmyla Kopysh and Vyacheslav Prokhorenko, State Emergency Service employees Serhiy Kostenko, Vladyslav Sokolenko, Yuriy Ovrutskyy, Valeriy Morhatskyy, Oleksiy Marchenko and Viktor Dovzhenko, as well as police officers Andriy Vovk and Andriy Zelyak.
On 19 August, Russia fired a ballistic missile at Chernihiv, killing seven and injuring 129. A three-day mourning was announced in the city.