Vladimir Putin must be “held to account” for a missile strike on an apartment block near Odesa, which has left at least 19 people dead, Germany has said.
At least two children were among those killed in the strike on a nine-story building in the small town of Serhiivka, near Odesa in southern Ukraine on Friday morning.
Germany condemned the attack, suggesting it could amount to a war crime if civilians had been deliberately targeted.
“The Russian President Putin and those responsible will have to be held accountable,” a German government spokesman told a briefing.
The Kremlin has denied Moscow targeted the building, insisting “the Russian Armed Forces do not work with civilian targets”.
The attack comes after Russian forces withdrew from the strategically important Snake Island on Thursday, a move Ukrainians hoped would ease the threat to nearby Odesa.
