Twelve dead in strike on Mykolaiv governor's office

A Russian strike on a government building in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv has killed 12 people and injured more than 20 others, Ukrainian officials say.

A rocket tore a hole through the nine-storey building shortly before 09:00 local (06:00 GMT) on Tuesday morning.

The attack destroyed the office of the regional governor, Vitaliy Kim, who was not there at the time.

Authorities are still searching for more survivors in the rubble.

The building also houses the offices of the Mykolaiv regional state government.

Emergency services say at least 22 people were also wounded.

In a video address to the Danish Parliament, Ukraine's President Zelensky condemned the attack: "There were no military targets in Mykolaiv. The people of Mykolaiv posed no threat to Russia."

Ukrainian rescue services say they have so far pulled 18 survivors out from the rubble

Mr Kim accused the Russian forces of waiting until people arrived for work in the morning before targeting the site.

"I had overslept. But - I got lucky," he said. "The majority escaped miraculously, I don't know how."

For several weeks, Ukrainian forces in Mykolaiv have repelled Russian attempts to seize the southern port city, blocking Russia's advance west along the Black Sea coast.

A woman living opposite the building said she believed the decision to target the strike on Mr Kim's office was deliberate.

"He [Putin] had to remove him, because he gives confidence and strength to our people, our soldiers, volunteers, those who are on the front line," Svetlana said.

It "infuriates Putin and his followers the fact that he [Kim] doesn't give up and doesn't let them go further to Odessa."

Who is Vitaliy Kim?

The 41-year-old politician has been the governor of Mykolaiv Oblast for less than two years, but it's in the last few weeks that his profile has risen considerably.

When the Russian invasion began, he started posting video updates on the city's defence campaign which have received millions of views.

Vitaly Kim has been in office for less than two years

His cheery videos follow a familiar pattern, beginning with him flashing the 'V for Victory' finger symbol followed by a joke taking aim at the Russian military.

In one of his clips, Mr Kim can be seen smiling at the camera from inside what he says is a captured Russian tank.

"Well guys, now I have my own personal trophy," he says. "With working electronics, now I can have even more fun".

His reputation for humour has attracted him a following from across the country.

In the western city of Lviv, pro-Ukraine beers are sold with Mr Kim's cartoon on their packaging, depicting him in a vest as one of seven members of Ukraine's "fight club".

The name of the Ukrainian beer featuring Mr Kim is "Fights will go on as long as they have to"

Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Harding earlier this month, Mr Kim said the invading Russian forces had underestimated Mykolaiv's resistance, expecting "to be greeted with flowers" upon arrival.

Instead the city became a fiercely contested battleground.

"When the war finishes, we want tourists - not the Russian type with guns," Mr Kim said in an interview with The Times.

"We want to show them that we are a proud city and that is the reason we will never let the enemy in here".

Vitaliy Kim video updates on the city's defence campaign which have received millions of views

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