KYIV: Two Russian missiles struck residential structures in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk area, resulting in at least eight fatalities and 31 injuries, said the Ukrainian officials, Al Jazeera reported.
Authorities in Ukraine on Monday released videos and images showing people sorting through the debris, which included a severely damaged five-story apartment complex. The injured were being treated on the site by an ambulance.
Eight persons were killed in the attacks, according to the governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, including five civilians, two rescuers, and one soldier, as per Al Jazeera.
Four civilians were killed in the first incident, while one emergency worker was killed in the second, according to prior comments from interior minister Ihor Klymenko. Search and rescue efforts were still going on, Klymenko said.
Ten members of the Ukrainian security services were among the 31 injured, most of whom were civilians, officials also said.
According to Kyrylenko, the attacks caused damage to a hotel, residences, and other civilian infrastructure.
In a message posted online, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of attempting to leave only “broken and scorched stones” in eastern Ukraine. His words were shown alongside video of a five-story residential building that was damaged, with one floor being partially destroyed.
Before the war, Pokrovsk was home to about 60,000 people.
The tragic assault occurred just one day after government representatives from almost 40 nations met in Saudi Arabia to discuss finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine.
The two-day discussions in Jeddah were criticised by Russia’s foreign ministry as noting having “the slightest added value” because Moscow, unlike Kyiv, was not invited.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement reiterating earlier promises that Moscow is open to a diplomatic resolution on its terms to end the 17-month war and that it is prepared to consider serious suggestions. The Kremlin’s demands include Kyiv acknowledging Russia’s annexation of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014, and four regions of Ukraine that Russian forces currently only partially control, according to Al Jazeera
Zelenskyy’s advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, however, rejected Moscow’s earlier requests that would have given it time to expand its influence in the regions of Ukraine it has already taken.
He said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Kyiv will not budge on the demand that Russian military completely evacuate from the
occupied territories.
Zelenskyy visited the southern Mykolaiv region last month, and the Security Service of Ukraine reported on Monday that it had detained
an alleged Russian informant who had obtained that information.
According to the report, the woman “was gathering information for an airstrike during Zelenskyy’s visit.”
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Zelenskyy has been a top target for the Kremlin, when he refused to leave Kyiv as Moscow’s forces drew near.
Since then, he has played a significant part in boosting public morale, especially through a nightly video message, and has established himself as a familiar figure around the globe as he urges allies and others to support Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported. (ANI)