bAccording to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, at least 20 people were killed in the shelling of the eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk, which was occupied by Russian troops. Another ten were injured. “The Ukrainian armed forces have shelled a bakery in Lysychansk, there are civilians under the rubble,” wrote the head of the Russian-annexed Luhansk region, Leonid Passechnik, on his Telegram channel on Saturday.
Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova spoke of “terrorist acts by Ukrainian neo-Nazis.” Kiev knew that there were many people in the bakery at the time and deliberately chose this target, she claimed. She called for international condemnation of the attack, especially in the West, since Lysychansk was attacked with Western weapon systems. According to authorities, the city was shelled with Himars rocket artillery.
The information on the possible number of buried people varies. Passetschnik spoke of up to 40 people who could be lying under the collapsed two-story building. The local civil defense only announced in the evening that around ten people had been discovered under the rubble – including dead people. Ukraine has not yet commented on the attack. The Russian information could not be independently verified.
Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian war of aggression for almost two years.
Zelenskyj calls for unity for victory over Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not address the Lysychansk incident in his daily video message. Instead, he spoke briefly about the damage caused by a Russian missile attack the night before in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih. According to him, repair work on the damaged power grid is still ongoing there. Thousands are cut off from energy supplies.
He appealed to the West to continue to support Ukraine in its defense against the Russian invasion. “It is absolutely important to preserve the maximum consolidation of the free world and to do everything possible and impossible so that Ukraine can inflict defeats on Russia,” Zelensky said. Russia only comes to the conclusion to end its war through defeats.
The aim of the war of aggression started by Russia is not just Ukraine and its independence, said Zelensky. This is also why continued international cooperation on sanctions and arms support from foreign partners is important.
That will be important on Sunday
Fighting continues in the south and east of Ukraine. The Ukrainian troops, which have been pushed onto the defensive due to a lack of ammunition, are still trying to hold the most heavily contested sections of the front around Avdiivka, Bakhmut and Kupyansk.
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