BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Nine people were killed over the weekend through an airstrike in Vinnytsia, Ukraine.

Vinnytsia, one of Birmingham’s 13 “sister cities” from around the world, suffered a missile strike that resulted in its airport being bombed, according to the Agence France Presse. Ukrainian rescue services reported on Telegram that five civilians and four soldiers were among the dead pulled from the rubble following the bombing.

“I’ve just heard the report on the missile strike at Vinnytsia, eight missiles against our city, against our peaceful Vinnytsia, which has never posed a threat to Russia in any way,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement posted to Twitter. “They continue total destruction of our infrastructure, our life built by us, our parents and grandparents, generations of Ukrainians.”

Prior to the missile strike, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin had offered his thoughts and prayers to those in Vinnytsia.

“The City of Birmingham’s thoughts are with our sister city of Vinnytsia during the conflict in Ukraine,” Woodfin told CBS 42. “The people of Vinnytsia and throughout Ukraine deserve a peaceful resolution to this conflict. We pray for their safety and that justice is delivered.”

Birmingham and Vinnytsia have been sister cities since 2003.