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Rescue work at the site of the collapse of the restaurant after the Russian strike
June 28, 2023, 08:24 GMT
Updated an hour ago
On the evening of June 27, Russia launched a missile attack on the center of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region. The missile hit a restaurant where there were a lot of people. The Interior Ministry reported the death of at least 10 people, including three children. Another 61 people were injured.
Andriy Yermak, head of the office of the President of Ukraine, said earlier that two missile strikes had been carried out on the city. One of the Russian rockets hit a building in the center of Kramatorsk, where there was a restaurant filled with visitors, the second hit the suburban village of Belenkoye.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine reported that the death toll had increased to 10, including three children, 61 people were injured (including a child), seven were rescued from the rubble. “Search and rescue operations and the removal of rubble continue,” the police said earlier.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin specified in the morning that among the dead were three underage girls – one 17 years old and two sisters 14 years old.
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Local authorities published photos of the dead 14-year-old Aksenchenko sisters
Sisters Julia and Anna Aksenchenko died, told in the city council’s education department.
“This year they finished the eighth grade, and on September 4 they were supposed to celebrate their 15th birthday. The Russian rocket stopped the beating of the hearts of two angels,” the report said.
Among the wounded are three citizens of Colombia – Sergio Jaramillo, writer Hector Abad and journalist Catalina Gomez. This was reported to the BBC by the organization Aquanta Ucraina. They met at dinner in a restaurant with a Ukrainian writer.
Photo by t.me/pgo_gov_ua
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One of the two rockets hit the building where the restaurant was located (photo published on the telegram channel of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine)
The office of the Prosecutor General clarified that the city was fired not by the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system, as previously reported by the Ukrainian authorities, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, but by two Iskander missiles.
A pre-trial investigation has been launched under the article on violation of the laws and customs of war by the prosecutor’s office of the Donetsk region.
In the private sector in the village of Belenky, five local residents were injured after shelling, the regional prosecutor’s office said.
The head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Pavel Kirilenko, said that a child born in 2022 was among the wounded. The shelling took place around 7:50 pm, when a restaurant in the city center was full of customers, including children.
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Donetsk governor Pavel Kirilenko posted a photo of a destroyed restaurant (reportedly it was a pizzeria)
The building of a famous pizzeria in the city collapsed. This place was always crowded, there were often foreign journalists and delegations.
Houses, shops, cafes and other establishments were damaged near the impact site of one of the missiles. The video from the scene shows broken glass and destruction in all surrounding buildings.
“I ran here after the explosion because I rented a cafe here… Everything exploded there,” Valentina, 64, told Reuters. Not a single glass, window or door left. All I see is destruction, fear and horror. And this is the 21st century!”
image copyrightmvs.gov.ua
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Destruction at the site of the rocket’s arrival
With the help of cranes, rescuers continue to dismantle the rubble of the destroyed cafe, they continue to search for victims.
Kramatorsk is a large city and the administrative center of the Donetsk region, the other part of the region is occupied by Russian forces.
The city is located 40 kilometers west of the front line. Reuters calls him a likely key target of the Russian offensive (given Moscow’s stated goal of capturing the entire Donetsk region).
Kramatorsk has come under frequent shelling, including an attack on a railway station in April 2022 that killed 63 people.
Zelensky said in his evening video message that Russia “deserves only one thing as a result of what it has done – defeat and a tribunal.”
image copyrightGetty Images
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People at the site of the missile attack
Russia denies hitting civilian targets in a so-called “special military operation” following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
This thesis was repeated on Wednesday by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, answering a question from journalists about the strike on Kramatorsk: “The Russian Federation does not strike at civilian infrastructure. The strikes are carried out on objects that are in one way or another connected with the military infrastructure.”
In the afternoon, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement that the point of temporary deployment of the commanders of the 56th motorized infantry brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was hit in Kramatorsk.
image copyrightNational police of Ukraine
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Debris clearing continues
2023-06-28 09:36:25
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