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Rescuers combed the rubble of an apartment building in eastern Ukraine for two dozen people, including a child, who were believed to be trapped after a Russian rocket strike on the five-story structure killed 15 people.
Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the attack in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, was “another terrorist attack” and that Russia should be designated as a state sponsor of terrorism.
On Sunday, rescuers used a crane to lift a concrete slab and their hands to dig through the debris, while dazed survivors of the Saturday evening attack retrieved personal belongings and recounted their miraculous escape.
One woman was seen walking out of the destroyed building with an ironing board, an umbrella, and a plastic shopping bag under her arm. Others simply stood by, fearing the worst as the dead were removed.
“We ran to the basement, there were three hits, the first somewhere in the kitchen,” said a local resident who gave her name as Ludmila.
“The second, I do not even remember, there was lightning, we ran towards the second entrance and then straight into the basement. We sat there all night until this morning.” Another survivor, who gave her name as Venera, said she had wanted to save her two kittens.
“I was thrown into the bathroom, it was all chaos, I was in shock, all covered in blood,” she said, crying. “By the time I left the bathroom, the room was full up of rubble, three floors fell down. I never found the kittens under the rubble.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, calling it a “special military operation” to demilitarise Ukraine and rid it of nationalists.
Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Putin’s forces of war crimes and say his war is an imperial land grab. Moscow denies any attacks on civilians.
The largest European conflict since World War II has killed thousands, destroyed cities and towns, and driven more than 5.5 million Ukrainians from their homes.
In the face of fierce resistance bolstered by Western weapons, Russia abandoned an early advance on Kyiv.
Its military campaign is now centered in the south and east of the Donbas region, which includes the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk. The Kremlin wants pro-Russian separatists who have declared independence from Kiev to take control of this industrial heartland.
Russian forces attacked Ukrainian positions in Donetsk near the town of Sloviansk but were forced to withdraw, Ukraine’s military said on Sunday.
Source:HT
