On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke bitterly against Russia’s relentless bombing of Donbass, saying “it’s like hell there.”
Mr Zelenski accused Moscow of carrying out “brutal” and “pointless” attacks as it stepped up its offensive in the east of the country after the withdrawal of troops from the country’s capital, Kyiv.
Accusations of genocide were repeated by the Ukrainian president, accusing Vladimir Putin’s forces of trying to kill as many Ukrainians as possible and inflict as much damage as possible.
He said that while Ukrainian forces continue to liberate the Kharkiv region east of Kyiv, Russia is trying to put even more pressure on Donbass, which is in southeastern Ukraine.
Smoke rises from Lisichansk oil refinery about 120 km north of Donetsk
(AFP via Getty Images)
Aerial view shows crater and destroyed houses in the village of Yatskivka, Eastern Ukraine
(AFP via Getty Images)
In his evening video address Thursday, Zelensky said: “There is hell – and this is no exaggeration”, adding that 12 people were killed in the “brutal and absolutely senseless bombing” of Severodonetsk on Thursday.
“(There are) constant strikes on the Odessa region, on the cities in central Ukraine. Donbass is completely destroyed, “he continued.
“This is a deliberate and criminal attempt to kill as many Ukrainians as possible, to destroy as many houses, social facilities and businesses as possible.
Along with a dozen killed in Severodonetsk, another 40 were injured in Russian shelling, according to a local official.
Luhansk regional governor Sergei Gaidai said on social media that there were “12 dead and more than 40 injured” in Severodonetsk. He accused Russian forces of “accidentally” targeting the city with heavy weapons.
Unexploded ordnance can be seen at the back door of a kindergarten where seven people have taken refuge in a basement for more than two months in Lisichansk, eastern Ukraine.
(AFP via Getty Images)
A serviceman from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) walks in the damaged Savur-Mohila military memorial complex
(Reuters)
The attacks began early Thursday and lasted until evening, he said.
Mr Gaidai wrote: “Information on the number of dead and wounded is still being established, as it is impossible to study the area under fire.”
He also called on people to take shelter if they choose not to leave.
Mr Gaidai said earlier this week there were protests in Russian-occupied parts of Luhansk by families of forcibly mobilized people.
After deviating from Kyiv, Russia used its massive artillery and armor to try to seize more territory in the Donbass, consisting of the Donetsk and Luhansk districts, which the Kremlin is claiming on behalf of the separatists.
Related video: Zelensky scoffs at Russia’s “trying to find a prodigy” amid the use of laser weapons
Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement Thursday that Russia’s attacks were aimed at the Donetsk region, but added that Moscow’s forces had “suffered significant losses” around Slavyansk north of Donetsk. Related video:
Five civilians were killed in Donetsk on Thursday, according to District Governor Pavlo Kirilenko.
“The enemy is destroying all civilian infrastructure, even in places relatively far from the front line,” he told local television.
This follows from the police, which today in the Telegram said that two children were killed in the Donetsk city of Liman in a direct hit in an apartment building.
Elsewhere, District Governor Roman Starovoit said Ukrainian forces shelled a border village in Russia’s western Kursk region on Thursday morning, killing at least one civilian.
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