Hours after Russian missiles struck this quiet southern resort town early on Friday, rescue workers sifted through the rubble for victims or, just possibly, survivors of the attack.
Yellow cranes hoisted slabs of concrete from the twisted wreckage of a collapsed hotel; blankets and washing clung to the side of a listing apartment block; a purple curtain blown out by the shock waves hung eerily from a pine tree. Maple leaves blasted from trees formed a vast green carpet in the midst of the mayhem and bloodshed.
Residents said they heard a siren followed by three explosions in quick succession. Only later did they learn that at least 21 of their fellow citizens had died in one of the deadliest attacks on civilians since the war in Ukraine began more than four months ago. Read more
@nytimes