Fire Breaks Out at University Building in Donetsk, Occupied by Russia, Following Shootings in Ukraine

Mentari Puspadini, CNBC Indonesia

Sunday, 06/08/2023 21:00 WIB

Pictured: Firefighters work at the site of an administrative building damaged by a Russian missile attack in Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday (28/7/2023). (Facebook/Handout via REUTERS)

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – A fire broke out at the University Building in Donetsk, the territory now occupied by Russia, on Saturday (5/8/2023). This incident followed shootings in Ukraine on the same day.

“As a result of the latest attacks in Donetsk, the first building of the University of Economics and Commerce caught fire,” Alexei Kulemzin, the Russian-appointed mayor, told Reuters on Telegram.

“We used 12 water tanks, three ladders and 100 fire extinguishers,” said Alexei Kostrubitsky, Russia’s installed emergency minister for the region Moscow calls the Donetsk People’s Republic.

“The whole roof is on fire,” he added.

Kostrubitsky said Ukrainian troops used ammunition in the shelling and spread fire everywhere. Reuters was unable to independently verify the information.

Both sides are known to have used cluster bombs during the 17 months of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine, which received supplies of US cluster bombs last month, has vowed to use them only to dislodge concentrations of enemy troops.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the alleged shooting. Both sides deny targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Kostrubitsky said no one was in the building during the shooting. “The hardest thing was the roof was made of wood, so the fire spread quickly.”

Russia’s state news agency (RIA) quoted Kostrubitsky and emergency services as saying the fire spread over an area of around 1,800 square meters before being put out early Sunday.

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