Aug. 8 (UPI) — At least seven people were killed and 88 more injured in a pair of Russian strikes against the Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk Monday, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Five civilians were killed in the first strike, while a soldier and a rescuer were killed in the second, Donetsk regional military administration head Pavlo Kyrylenko in a Telegram post. The Ukrainian national police said Andrii Omelchenko, the deputy head of the Donetsk Oblast Emergency Service, was also killed in the strikes.
He added that 39 civilians, 31 police officers, and seven state emergency service employees and four military personnel were among the injured, while 12 high-rise buildings and other structures including a pharmacy, two cafes and civilian vehicles were damaged.
Kryrlenko Russia fired two Iskander missiles with the first hitting at 7:15 p.m. local time while the second struck at 7:52 p.m.
Ukrainian authorities said the second missile strike targeted rescuers trying to save victims of the first strike.
“All of them were there when they were needed, putting their efforts into rescuing people after their first incoming. They knew there were victims under rubble – so one had to react, dismantle. get them out and save them. And then the enemy struck again,” the Ukrainian national police said.
The city of Pokrovsk, Donetsk region. Donbas, from which Russia is trying to leave only broken and scorched stones. Two missile strikes. An ordinary residential building was hit. Unfortunately, there are victims. Rescuers and all necessary services are on the scene. The rescue of… pic.twitter.com/zsIA7dR6HR— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 7, 2023
Russian authorities said they had struck a Ukrainian command post in Pokrovsk, but Serhi Dobriak, a local military leader, told CNN there were no military targets in the city.
“This is just terror,” he said. “This does not intimidate us, but people are dying and suffering.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted out a short clip of the aftermath of one of the strikes Monday.
“The city of Pokrovsk, Donetsk region. Donbas, from which Russia is trying to leave only broken and scorched stones. Two missile strikes. An ordinary residential building was hit. Unfortunately, there are victims. Rescuers and all necessary services are on the scene. The rescue of people continues,” Zelensky tweeted.
“We have to stop the Russian terror. Everyone who fights for the freedom of Ukraine saves lives. Everyone in the world who helps Ukraine will defeat the terrorists together with us. Russia will be held accountable for everything it has done in this terrible war,” Zelensky said.
