ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine, Dec 17, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A Russian aerial attack on 
Wednesday wounded at least 26 people, including in a residential building in 
the central Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, local authorities announced.

AFP journalists at the scene saw firefighters battling a blaze in a multiple-
storey housing bloc, where black smoke was billowing into the sky.

The attack comes as the United States is pushing Ukraine to accept peace 
terms to halt the fighting that critics have said are favourable to the 
Kremlin.

"The Russians launched guided aerial bombs, destroying residential buildings 
and damaging an infrastructure facility and an educational institution," Ivan 
Fedorov, the head of the Zaporizhzhia military administration announced.

He said 26 people were wounded in total, including at least one child and 
that medical workers were on the scene.

The industrial city of Zaporizhzhia had a pre-war population of around 
710,000 people and lies 27 kilometres (17 miles) from the front line. It has 
been targeted frequently by Russian forces since they invaded in February 
2022.

The Kremlin claimed in late 2022 that it had annexed the wider region, along 
with three other eastern and southern regions of Ukraine.