Ukrainian authorities on Wednesday arrested a man accused of helping Russia lead a rocket attack at a popular pizzeria in eastern Ukraine that killed at least 11 people, including three teenagers.
Tuesday night’s attack in Kramatorsk, Donetsk province, injured another 61 people, Ukraine’s National Police said, in the latest bombing of a civilian target in a Ukrainian city, a tactic Russia has used extensively in this war. which has been going on for 16 months.
The strike, and other strikes in Ukraine on Tuesday evening and early Wednesday, indicated that the Kremlin is not slowing down its airstrikes despite internal political and military instability caused by a short-lived armed uprising led by the mercenary last week. group Wagner.
Responding to allegations of responsibility for the attack on the Ria Pizza restaurant in Kramatorsk, the Kremlin said on Wednesday it only attacks military targets in Ukraine.
“Russia does not attack civilian infrastructure, it attacks installations that are somehow connected to military infrastructure”Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The attack destroyed the Ria Pizza restaurant, a popular downtown spot frequented by journalists, aid workers and soldiers. Ukrainian media reported the presence of foreign military instructors in the city.
The attack on Kramatorsk was carried out with two S-300 surface-to-air missiles, according to Kiev, fired by Russian forces.
According to Ukrainian authorities, the dead include a 17-year-old girl and two 14-year-old girls. An eight-month-old baby was injured, but her life is not in danger.
Ukraine’s emergency service said rescue operations continued and seven people were pulled alive from the rubble.
Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina, who suffered a serious skull fracture, is among the injured, according to Kiev.
Amelina was at the restaurant at the time of the attack, accompanied by Colombian writer Héctor Abad and former Colombian Presidency High Commissioner for Peace, Sergio Jaramillo.
Abad and Jaramillo survived the attack with minor injuries, as did Colombian journalist Catalina Gómez, who was also in the restaurant.
According to Kiev, this Russian attack on Kramatorsk was one of the most serious in recent weeks and has already been condemned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In addition to the restaurant, according to the Ukrainian Public Prosecutor’s Office, apartments, shops, cars, a post office and several other buildings were damaged.
Kramatorsk is an important railway hub and home to military installations, and is a frequent target of Russian bombing.
The deadliest was the train station bombing in April 2022, which killed 61 people and injured more than 160, a few weeks after the start of the Russian invasion and at a time when crowds of civilians were trying to leave the city.
Was waiting for further confirmation on this one. Merc Base appears in #Kramatorsk am hunted pic.twitter.com/VktqQMJ6c3
Mahmood Khan (@Mahmood88239370) June 28, 2023
Source: DN
