Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine has been occupied by Russia since 2022. According to Russian information, 28 people have now died in a Ukrainian attack there. A bakery was hit.
At least 28 people are said to have been killed in an attack on a bakery in the Russian-occupied city of Lysychansk. This was announced by Moscow-installed officials. At least one child was among the victims of the Ukrainian shelling on Saturday, the head of the Luhansk region declared annexed by Russia, Leonid Passetschnik, wrote on Telegram.
This information cannot be independently verified. Images released by Russian authorities show damage to a building and cleanup operations. According to the information, “around 65 percent of the destroyed building has been removed” so far. The search teams worked all night long. Ten people have been rescued from the rubble so far.
Russia: “Ukrainian neo-Nazis” responsible
Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Sakharova spoke of “terrorist acts by Ukrainian neo-Nazis.” The ministry said Western weapons were used in the bombing. A “quick and unconditional condemnation” of the attack by international organizations is expected.
The Ukrainian authorities initially did not comment on the allegations. The General Staff simply stated that the previous day the Ukrainian Air Force had struck “twelve areas with enemy personnel.”
Former large city occupied since summer 2022
Before Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Lysychansk was a large city with around 100,000 inhabitants. In the summer of 2022 it was taken by Russian troops after heavy fighting. The population at that time is said to have been less than 10,000. According to official Russian figures, this number will have risen to 37,000 by autumn 2023.
The city in the Luhansk region is located about 15 kilometers from Ukrainian-controlled territory. The front line in eastern Ukraine has been almost unchanged for months. Attacks on both sides have increased this winter.
Hatched: territories occupied by Russia
Power outage after drone attack
On Saturday, the Ukrainian Air Force reported shooting down nine of 14 drones fired by Russia. Most of the Iranian-made drones targeted “energy infrastructure facilities” in the Dnipropetrovsk region. In addition, targets in the south of Ukraine were attacked.
Regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said 15,000 people were without power as a result of the drone strikes. Heating systems in the city were affected by fires, leaving “some families without a water supply.” There were no deaths or injuries there.
Conflict parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian parties to the conflict cannot be directly verified by an independent body.