Huge blaze at Donetsk shopping mall sparked by Ukraine shelling - separatist officials

Record ID: 1686025

  • Title: Huge blaze at Donetsk shopping mall sparked by Ukraine shelling - separatist officials
  • Date: 24th August 2022
  • Summary: DONETSK, UKRAINE (AUGUST 24, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BLACK SMOKE BILLOWING OVER GALAKTIKA SHOPPING MALL IN DONETSK VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS AIMING WATER AT FIRE INSIDE BUILDING, SMASHING WINDOWS WITH AXE (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) CHIEF OF FIRE SERVICE OF THE SELF-PROCLAIMED DONETSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC EMERGENCIES MINISTRY, VLADIMIR MURENKOV, SAYING: "The large amount of combustible material (inside the shopping centre) poses a major difficulty. There are car tyres, paint and varnish, linoleum, synthetic materials. And as I said, a strong wind has helped the fire spread. The roof collapsed due to high temperatures. Because of the extensive stream of oxygen in the building, the fire engulfed the entire shopping mall." TWO MEN ON TOP OF FIRE ENGINE AIMING WATER AT ROOF VARIOUS TWO FIREFIGHTERS ON LADDER WITH FLAG OF SELF-PROCLAIMED DONETSK PEOPLE'S PEOPLES REPUBLIC ON WALL TWO FIREFIGHTERS ON LADDER WITH RUSSISN FLAG AND FLAG OF SELF-PROCLAIMED DONETSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) CHIEF OF FIRE SERVICE OF THE SELF-PROCLAIMED DONETSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC EMERGENCIES MINISTRY, VLADIMIR MURENKOV, SAYING: "The lack of water in the whole city's fire emergency water network has hampered putting out the blaze. Water is being delivered from the nearest body of water. A pump station has been installed and a hose laid down." FIRE ENGINES ARRIVING AND DEPARTING, FIREFIGHTERS WALKING FIRE ENGINE AND WATER CISTERN TRUCK VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS AT WORK VARIOUS OF VENDORS EVACUATING THEIR GOODS FROM MALL (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) DONETSK RESIDENT, VIKTOR PROKOPENKO, SAYING: "There were three (artillery shells) that came flying in. And it caught fire on the other side where there's timber and they keep wooden boards, planks, etc. Then the fire spread this way. The second (one) flew in and hit the centre (of the building), and then a third one. The fire has taken everything." FIREFIGHTER ADJUSTING HIS GEAR VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTER SITTING ON TOP OF FIRE ENGINE BLACK SMOKE BILLOWING SMOKE SEEN FROM DISTANCE, CARS DRIVING BY
  • Embargoed: 7th September 2022 13:45
  • Keywords: Donetsk Russia Ukraine crisis fire shelling shopping mall special military operation
  • Location: DONETSK, UKRAINE
  • City: DONETSK, UKRAINE
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts
  • Reuters ID: LVA001035424082022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Artillery shelling caused heavy fire in a shopping mall in separatist-held Donetsk on Wednesday (August 24), when Ukraine marks its Independence Day.
    Russian and separatist news outlets quote officials from self-proclaimed, backed by Russia Donetsk (DPR) people’s republic who blame Ukrainian Forces for the incident.
    They also said that nobody was killed or hurt.
    A local fire chief said large quantities of combustible material had hampered firefighters' efforts to put out the blaze, and said this was exacerbated by a lack of water in the city's emergency water network for firefighting.
    A local resident, Viktor Prokopenko, told Reuters he had seen three shells land on the shopping centre.
    Donetsk became a front-line city in 2014 when local separatists declared their secession from Ukraine and Kyiv began what was then called its Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO).
    Shelling has became a regular occurrence since Moscow launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24.
    Russia and Ukraine have both traded accusations of hitting civilian targets with no military significance.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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