(Reuters) – Ukrainian forces killed two civilians late on Monday when they shelled an apartment building in the Russian-held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, Russian-installed officials said on Tuesday.
Reuters reporters saw rescue workers combing through the rubble in the building, the lower part of which had collapsed, and one victim’s legs protruding from the debris.
“A Ukrainian shell struck an apartment building at 246 Kuybyshev Street (in Donetsk),” the Russian-installed police force in the part of Ukraine’s Donetsk region controlled by Moscow said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, two civilians died of their wounds under the rubble of the damaged building.”
There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian authorities, who say Russian forces have killed thousands of people in similar attacks on civilian areas and that their own armed forces are trying to seize back control of Ukrainian territory.
Moscow, which says it does not deliberately target civilians, is trying to take control of all of Ukraine’s Donetsk region, a big chunk of which it has already seized, and is facing fierce resistance from the Ukrainian army.
The facade of the building was blackened by smoke and its windows were blown out with people’s damaged furniture and belongings left lying in the yard.
“There was just this crazy bang. (My) child was so frightened,” said one local resident who only gave her name as Irina.
“It is sad. The situation is very tense. It all seems like it’ll never end. And it’s very scary to live like this.”
Natalya Kasyanenko, another resident, said her family’s apartment had got off fairly lightly but that other people faced a tragedy.
“Before this, a 16-storey building has been hit, a dental clinic and high school No. 51. But our neighbourhood had remained relatively calm. We did not expect anything like this,” she said.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Peter Graff)
