- Title: Two people killed in Donetsk shelling blamed on Ukraine - officials
- Date: 28th March 2023
- Summary: DONETSK, RUSSIAN-CONTROLLED UKRAINE (MARCH 28, 2023) (REUTERS) EMERGENCY PERSONNEL NEAR HEAVILY-DAMAGED RESIDENTIAL BLOCK EMERGENCY SERVICES VEHICLE PARKED NEAR BLOCK FIREFIGHTERS INSPECTING DEBRIS INSIDE HOUSE HUMAN FOOT PROTRUDING FROM DEBRIS FIREFIGHTERS INSPECTING DEBRIS VARIOUS OF FRONT OF BLOCK WITH SMASHED WINDOWS AND LARGE HOLE VARIOUS OF RESIDENT AND EYEWITNESS NATALYA KASYANENKO SWEEPING GLASS FRAGMENTS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) DONETSK RESIDENT AND EYEWITNESS, NATALYA KASYANENKO, SAYING: "We had gone to bed already. It was about 9:30 p.m. (1830GMT on March 27). We were still awake when at 10:10 p.m. (1910GMT) there was a flash and something flew up and went bang. Then we went to our neighbour's. All the windows were smashed at her place. Thank God, in our apartment, only the window frame has moved a little and has a few fragments stuck in it. But other people have faced a real tragedy." VARIOUS OF DAMAGED FLAT (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) DONETSK RESIDENT AND EYEWITNESS, NATALYA KASYANENKO, SAYING: "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." MAN WALKING INSIDE DAMAGED FLAT DAMAGED WINDOW FRAMES AND FURNITURE ICON SEEN THROUGH HOLE IN FLOOR GROUP OF PEOPLE NEAR HOUSE WITH ROLL OF TRANSPARENT FILM MAN AND WOMAN UNROLLING FILM (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) DONETSK RESIDENT AND EYEWITNESS, IRINA (NO LAST NAME GIVEN), SAYING: "There was just this crazy bang. (My) child was so frightened. As we came running in here, it was just chaos, but now, as you can see, everything has been cleared. Thank God, the boys and girls helped us. Volunteers arrived yesterday, too. They helped to cover the smashed windows with film. And today we're trying to clean everything ourselves." PEOPLE STANDING NEAR PILE OF BLANKETS, BEDCOVERS AND SOFT TOY SOFT TOY AND BEDCLOTHES ON GROUND (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) DONETSK RESIDENT AND EYEWITNESS, IRINA (NO FAMILY NAME GIVEN), SAYING: "It is sad. The situation is very tense. It all seems like it'll never end. Very loud. And it's very scary to live like this." VARIOUS OF DEBRIS ON GROUND EMERGENCY WORKER CORDONING HOUSE WITH RED AND WHITE TAPE
- Embargoed: 11th April 2023 11:54
- Keywords: Donetsk Ukraine crisis casualties shelling
- Location: DONETSK, RUSSIAN-CONTROLLED UKRAINE
- City: DONETSK, RUSSIAN-CONTROLLED UKRAINE
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA001086628032023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES IN SHOT 4
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 (March 28).
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 façade 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. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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