Attack on Kramatorsk/Ukraine accuses a local resident of helping Russian forces

2023-06-28 17:12:25, Kosova & Bota CNA

Ukrainian authorities on Wednesday arrested a man accused of helping Russia carry out a missile attack that hit a busy pizzeria in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Tuesday. As a result, at least 10 people were killed, among them three children aged 14 and 17, while 61 others were injured. Rescue teams are still searching for survivors or victims who did not survive the attack.

Kramatorsk is a front-line city, home to the regional headquarters of the Ukrainian army. The pizzeria was frequented by local residents, journalists, ambulance workers, and soldiers.

According to the Security Service of Ukraine, the arrested man, a male employee of a local gas transportation company, allegedly directed Russian troops to attack the restaurant.

He had provided them with footage and informed them of the restaurant's popularity, according to a Security Service press release published on the Telegram social network. But the Ukrainian authorities did not provide any evidence of their claims.

Attacks on Ukrainian cities are a tactic Russia has used frequently during the 16-month war.

Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said 18 high-rise buildings, 65 houses, five schools, two kindergartens, a shopping mall, an administrative building and an entertainment center were also damaged during Tuesday's attack on Krematorsk.

The attack on this city and others across Ukraine are indications that the Kremlin is not easing up on airstrikes despite facing a short-lived armed rebellion last weekend. Likewise, there has been no visible military push on the part of Ukraine to take advantage of the situation. However, Kiev has not provided information about the latest developments on the battlefield.

The attack on Kramatorsk was initially thought to have been carried out with an S-300 surface-to-air missile, which Russian forces have used for attacks on cities, but state police authorities later announced that a short-range ballistic missile had been used. Iskander'.

Russia has consistently insisted that it has not hit civilian targets, although many have been killed in its airstrikes.

The city of Kramatorsk is located in the Donetsk region, one of the four Ukrainian provinces that Russia illegally annexed last September, but which it does not fully control./ VOA