Russian Shelling Kills 5, Wounds 15 in Ukraine
At least five people were killed by Russian shelling of a residential building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk on Friday, according to the local governor, who warned that others may be buried under the rubble.
Sloviansk is located in a region of Donetsk that is under Ukrainian control. It is close to Russian-controlled territory.
Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, criticized Russia for “brutally shelling” residential structures and “killing people in broad daylight.”
Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region, stated that the strike began in the afternoon.
“As of 6:00 pm local time (1500 GMT), there have been five fatalities and fifteen injuries,” Kyrylenko reported via Telegram.
There is a chance that seven people, including one child, are buried beneath the debris.
On the scene, AFP journalists witnessed rescue workers digging for survivors on the top floor of a residential building from the Soviet era, and black smoke billowing from burning homes across the street.
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The street below, which included a playground, covered in concrete dust and debris.
Larisa, a 59-year-old resident who lives on the opposite side of the street, told AFP, “I was sleeping when I heard this enormous boom, and I ran out of my apartment.”
“I terrified and in a state of shock,” she said, adding that the shelling had shattered her windows and scattered shards of glass throughout her house.
“I heard a woman yelling ‘there’s a child here!’ repeatedly.” She was wailing so loudly.”
At a second impact site in a residential neighborhood, a dazed elderly woman in a purple cardigan collected metal fragments.
A nearby resident told AFP journalists that the strikes broke her windows and front door.
“When this occurs, we immediately seek refuge in the restroom,” she explained.
“No one on our side of the building is hurt, but perhaps someone over here is,” she added, pointing to a pool of blood near another entrance to her building.
Sloviansk is located 45 kilometers (27 miles) to the northwest of the current epicenter of fighting in Bakhmut.
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