KYIV, Ukraine – At least 15 people were killed when a Russian missile hit an apartment building in the town of Chasiv Yar, eastern Ukraine, and more than 20 people may still be trapped in the rubble, officials said today. Sunday.
Saturday night’s rocket attack was the latest in a recent series of high-fatal attacks on civilian structures. At least 19 people died when a Russian missile hit a shopping mall in the city of Kremenchuk in late June, and 21 people were killed when an apartment building and entertainment complex were hit by rockets in the southern region. Odesa this month.
Russia has repeatedly stated that it only attacks targets of military value during the war. There was no comment on Chasiv Yar at the Russian Defense Ministry briefing on Sunday.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region, which includes Chasiv Yar, said the town of about 12,000 people had been hit by Uragan missiles, which were fired from truck-launched systems.
Ukraine’s emergency services later said the death toll had risen to 15, and an estimated two dozen people were lying under the rubble. Rescuers made voice contact with at least three people trapped in the rubble, it said.
Chasiv Yar is about 20 kilometers (12 mi) southeast of Kramatorsk, a city that is expected to become a prime target for Russian forces as they advance west.
The Donetsk region is one of two provinces that together with Luhansk make up the Donbas region, where separatist rebels have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014. Last week, Russia captured the city of Lysychansk, the last major rebel stronghold. Ukraine war in Luhansk.
Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said Russian forces were raising “real hell” in Donbas, despite assessments that they were halting operations, Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said.
After the capture of Lysychansk, some analysts predict that Moscow’s troops may take some time to rearm and regroup.
But “so far, there has been no order to suspend operations announced by the enemy. He is still attacking and shelling our land with the same intensity as before,” Haidai said. He later said the Russian bombardment of Luhansk had been suspended because Ukrainian forces had destroyed ammunition depots and barracks used by the Russians.
