1 killed in Russian attack on Kyiv as death toll from earlier missile strike rises to 20

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — One person was killed Sunday as Russian air strikes hit the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, while the death toll from Friday’s deadly attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih continued to rise.

The Kyiv victim was found close to the strike's epicenter of the attack in the city's Darnytskyi district, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. A further three people were injured in the strike, which sparked fires in several nonresidential areas, damaging cars and buildings.

In a statement on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the intensifying Russian attacks showed that there is still insufficient international pressure on Moscow.

He said Russia has launched more than 1,460 guided aerial bombs, nearly 670 attack drones and more than 30 missiles at Ukraine in the past week alone.

“These attacks are (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s response to all international diplomatic efforts. Each of our partners — the United States, all of Europe, the entire world — has seen that Russia intends to continue the war and the killing," Zelenskyy said.

"That is why there can be no easing of pressure. All efforts must be aimed at guaranteeing security and bringing peace closer.”

Zelenskyy also said that the missiles fired into Ukraine had been launched by Russian ships stationed in the Black Sea. While U.S. negotiators announced on March 25 that both Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to a Black Sea ceasefire, the Kremlin has pushed for some Western sanctions against Russia to be lifted before such an agreement comes into force.

“This is one reason why Russia distorts diplomacy and will not agree to an unconditional (Black Sea) ceasefire: They want to retain the opportunity to strike at our cities and our ports from the sea,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “A ceasefire at sea is not only about free navigation and maritime food supplies, it is, above all, about security.”

Meanwhile, officials said that the death toll from Friday's attack on Kryvyi Rih had continued to grow, with 20 dead — including many children — and a further 75 wounded.

Oleksandr Vilkul, head of Kryvyi Rih's military administration, declared three days of mourning, starting on April 7. He said that there was “pain in the hearts of millions of people”.

“Together we will stand. And no matter how difficult it is, we will win,” he said. “The enemy will be punished for every Ukrainian and for every mother's tear.”

A team from the U.N. Human Rights Office in Ukraine visited the impact site Saturday to document the damage and establish the identities of the nine children killed in the attack. They described it as the deadliest single verified strike harming children since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Local authorities said the Kryvyi Rih strike damaged 44 apartment buildings and 23 private houses.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Friday that it had carried out a high-precision missile strike with a high explosive warhead on a restaurant where a meeting with unit commanders and Western instructors was taking place.

Russian military claimed that the strike killed 85 military personnel and foreign officers and destroyed 20 vehicles. The military’s claims could not be independently verified. The Ukrainian General Staff rejected the claims.

Elsewhere, Russian troops fired 23 missiles and 109 strike and decoy drones across Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said Sunday. Thirteen missiles and 40 drones were shot down, while 53 decoy drones were jammed and did not reach their destinations, it said.

A 59-year-old man was killed Sunday morning by a Russian drone strike in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its air defenses had destroyed 11 Ukrainian drones, including eight over the Rostov region and two over the Kursk region.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) — Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, Gabon’s interim president who staged a 2023 coup that ended a decadeslong political dynasty, has been elected president, according to provisional results announced by the country’s interior ministry.

Nguema, 50, recorded a landslide victory with 90.35% of the votes cast, defeating seven other candidates, including immediate past prime minister Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze, Interior Minister Hermann Immongault said as he announced the provisional results.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's Previous story below:

Voters in Gabon on Sunday awaited the results of the central African nation’s presidential election, which the country’s military rulers hope will legitimize their grip on power after they staged a coup in 2023.

The interim president, Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who led the coup, looked set to win Saturday’s election by a wide margin, analysts said. Observers said he had representatives at the majority of the more than 3,000 polling stations where elections were held, an indication of his campaigning reach.

Local observers also deemed the conduct of the poll satisfactory in nearly all the polling stations monitored. Local media reported that the interim president had most of the votes so far collated in the small number of voting stations that have announced results.

Oligui Nguema is in the presidential race with seven other candidates, including former Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze, his main challenger. Bilie-By-Nze recently told The Associated Press that Oligui Nguema took advantage of state resources to push his campaign. The government denies this.

It’s Gabon's first election since the 2023 military coup ended a political dynasty that lasted over 50 years.

Some 920,000 voters, including over 28,000 overseas, were registered to vote in the election, seen as crucial for the country where a third of the population of 2.3 million people lives in poverty despite its vast oil wealth.

At least 94.8% of the polling stations observed operated under satisfactory conditions, while the transparency of operations was deemed satisfactory in 98.6% of cases, the Gabonese Civil Society Organizations Observation Mission said late Saturday.

The interim president had his representatives present in 69.6% of the polling stations observed while Bilie-By-Nze's representation stood at just 8.2%, the observers said.

Oligui Nguema, 50, the former head of the republican guard, toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba nearly two years ago. He hopes to consolidate his grip on power for a seven-year term in office.

After casting his ballot on Saturday in the capital, Libreville, the interim president said he felt proud of the citizens seeking to "turn the page to join the new Republic.”

"May the best man win,” he said.

In a video message shared after he voted in the north of the country, Bilie-By-Nze said he was concerned that unused voting cards could be used for potential electoral fraud.

Voters who spoke to the AP were divided on how the military has performed since taking over power in 2023, with most saying they have failed in their promises.

“I’m telling you that for me, the military has failed,” said Antoine Nkili, a 27-year-old unemployed man with a master’s degree in law. “They promised to reform the institutions, but they haven’t. Instead, they’ve enriched themselves.”

——

Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria.

Voters queue to cast their votes for the presidential elections outside a polling station, in Liberville, Gabon, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Betines Makosso)

Voters queue to cast their votes for the presidential elections outside a polling station, in Liberville, Gabon, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Betines Makosso)

Ballots for presidential candidates are placed on a table inside a polling station, in Liberville, Gabon, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Betines Makosso)

Voters queue up outside a polling station to cast their votes for the presidential elections in Liberville, Gabon, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Betines Makosso)