One of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's top advisers has asked to be fired after a statement that sparked widespread outrage, Ukrainian media reported this morning.

Commenting on a Russian missile strike on an apartment block in the city of Dnipro on January 14, 2022, which killed dozens of civilians, Oleksii Arestovych said the missile hit the building after being hit by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile.

This is also the version announced yesterday by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who stated that Russia is not shelling civilian objects, but only overt or covert military targets. Kremlin propagandists interpreted Arestovych’s statement as an "official acknowledgment" by Kyiv of the deaths of civilians.

Arestovych apologized for his statement after Ukrainians reacted en masse with outrage to him on social media. It was not immediately clear whether Zelensky had accepted his resignation.

According to the latest data from the local authorities in Dnipro, the victims of the Russian strike, which completely destroyed the two entrances of a nine-story panel block, are at least 44, and 75 people are hospitalized. More than 30 residents of the building remain unaccounted for as rescue teams clear the rubble.

Arestovich published on Facebook his application for resignation, addressed to the head of the presidential cabinet Andriy Yermak. In it he says:

"Please dismiss me as counsel to the Chancellery (out of state) at my own will."

Arestovych adds that he wants to "show the civilized world - a fundamental error means resignation".

Read more from the 328^th day of the war in Ukraine.

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