Dozens killed or wounded in Russian missile strike in Ukraine, Kyiv says - Reuters

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Dozens of civilians were killed or wounded in what Kyiv said was a cynical Russian missile strike on a convoy of civilian cars in southern Ukraine on Friday, leaving bodies strewn across the ground.

The convoy had been assembling at a car market on the edge of the city of Zaporizhzhia, preparing to leave Ukrainian territory controlled by Kyiv to visit relatives and deliver supplies in an area occupied by Russia, officials said.

Car windows were blown out by the impact of the missile strike, and their sides were sprayed by shrapnel, a Reuters witness said.

Oleksandr Starukh, the Zaporizhzhia region governor, put the initial toll at 23 killed and 28 wounded in the attack, carried out hours before President Vladimir Putin was due to proclaim Russian rule over Zaporizhzhia and three other provinces where Moscow has seized territory since invading Ukraine.

Andriy Yermak, head of Zelenskiy's office, later said 25 had been killed and 50 wounded in what he said was an attack by a "terrorist state".

Vladimir Rogov, an official in the Russian-installed administration in the Zaporizhzhia region, blamed the attack on Ukrainian forces.

Cars destroyed by a Russian missile strike, that hit a convoy of civilian vehicles amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, are seen in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine September 30, 2022.

Ujryumov told Reuters that the Russian military "know that columns are formed here to go to the occupied territories.

Rusak said he had been sleeping in the vehicle for five days after dropping relatives in Zaporizhizia, waiting for a phone call telling him to join the convoy for the trip home to care for his elderly mother.

The United States imposed Russia-related sanctions on hundreds of individuals and companies on Friday, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaimed Russia's annexation of a swath of Ukraine.