Russian attack in eastern Ukraine leaves five dead and dozens injured

Five people were killed and dozens more injured in Russian attacks on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk on Monday, the governor of the Donetsk region said.

In recent weeks, Moscow has concentrated its firepower on the eastern industrial region of Donetsk, which the Kremlin considers to be part of Russia.

AFP journalists on the scene saw residents digging through the rubble next to a deep crater and houses destroyed by the blast wave.

“Five were killed and 41 injured,” said regional governor Vadym Filashkin.

“Among the injured are four children: a 12-year-old boy and girls aged 9, 11 and 13,” he added on social media.

Filashkin said two Iskander-M missiles fired by Russia destroyed and damaged several houses in Pokrovsk, a town with a population of about 61,000 before the war.

“This is one of the largest enemy attacks on civilians in recent times. Its final consequences have yet to be determined,” Filashkin added.

Nikolay Kurilov said he was watering flowers in his garden when one of the shells hit less than 500 meters away.

“And boom. I almost fell over,” the 70-year-old told AFP.

“And about 15 minutes later there was another bang. We started calling relatives,” he said.

Since the capture of the fortress town of Avdiivka in February, Russian forces have advanced towards Pokrovsk in recent months.

Filashkin also said a 62-year-old man was killed in a Russian attack on the town of Kurakhove, south of Pokrovsk.

“The Russians dropped a guided missile on the city and an infrastructure facility was damaged,” he said, without giving further details.

Filashkin also said Russian forces killed a 63-year-old civilian in the city of Toretsk, where Moscow’s troops had stepped up attacks following a prolonged ceasefire.

Russia claimed to have annexed Donetsk in late 2022, along with three other regions of Ukraine that it had partially occupied.

Parts of Donetsk have been controlled by Kremlin-backed separatists since 2014.

bur/jm