The missile hit the center of a residential neighborhood next to a children's playground. Nine children were killed and 12 were injured, Dnipropetrovsk regional administration head Serhiy Likhaks said on the Telegram app.

"You wouldn't wish this kind of pain on your worst enemy," added Likkas.

Among the injured are two children, aged eight and nine, who are hospitalized in serious condition, said Yevhen Sitnichenko, head of the Kryvyi Rih district state administration.

In addition, the Chairman of the Kryvyi Rih Defense Council Oleksandr Vilkul and the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klimenko said that the Russian strike on the center of the residential district caused damage to five high-rise residential buildings and caused fires. Rescuers have extinguished the fire in the car and garage premises.

Later on Friday evening, a Russian drone attack also took place in Kryvyi Rih, killing one person and wounding three, Likas reported.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have"delivered a precision strike with a high-explosive missile on a restaurant" where formation commanders and Western instructors were meeting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was born in Kryvyi Rih, said that this attack showed that Russia is not interested in stopping the full-scale invasion launched in February 2022.

"There is only one reason why this continues - Russia does not want a ceasefire and we see it. The whole world sees it," Zelensky said.

Andriy Kovalenko, a Ukrainian official in charge of combating disinformation, said the strike used an Iskander missile. The Russian Iskander ballistic missile system has a range of up to 500 kilometers.