Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Following a Russian missile attack on a mall in central Ukraine two days prior that left at least 18 dead...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Following a Russian missile attack on a mall in central Ukraine two days prior that left at least 18 dead, dozens of people were still unaccounted for on Wednesday, and an eastern regional governor described the situation in Lysychansk as "extremely terrible."
Ukraine said that when Russia attacked the mall in Kremenchuk, citizens had been killed on purpose. Moscow said that even though the mall was vacant, an armaments storage nearby had been hit.
"This spot was accurately hit by a Russian missile. Without a doubt... It is certain that Russian assassins were given those precise coordinates "Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said in a televised address that evening. They sought out as many victims as possible.
According to the authorities, 36 persons are still missing.
The governor reported increasing military activity in Lysychansk in the Luhansk region, a crucial theatre of conflict in Russia's assault on the Donbass industrial heartland.
Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk, stated on television that "the situation in Lysychansk is quite severe."
He claimed that "the Russians are employing every weapon at their disposal without determining whether targets are military or not, including schools, kindergartens, and cultural organisations."
"Everything is destroying itself. This is a policy of scorched earth."
During its four-month offensive against Ukraine, Russia has denied intentionally aiming at civilian locations. Since Russia's invasion on February 24, at least 4,700 people have reportedly died, according to the U.N.
Governor Valentyn Reznychenko of the Dnipropetrovsk region in the east reported that three of the six missiles fired by Russia were shot down. In the city of Dnipro, rescue crews were looking for people under the rubble.
Reuters was unable to confirm the account. A request for comment sent through email was not answered by the Russian Defense Ministry.
Separately, Russia-installed officials reported that the city mayor of Kherson, Ihor Kolykhayev, was taken into custody on Tuesday after defying Moscow's demands. The mayor, according to a local official, was kidnapped.
A port city on the Black Sea called Kherson is located not far from the Crimean peninsula that Russia has occupied.
Ukrainians have recently spoken about attacks in Odessa, in the south, and Kharkiv, in the northeast.
The Russian invasion, which is the worst attack on a European state since World War Two, has increased food and energy costs globally and stoked concerns about global security.
After Turkey abandoned its resistance to their membership, Finland and Sweden moved one step closer to joining the Western NATO military alliance, whose members have given the Ukraine weapons.
The development strengthens the alliance's reaction to Russia, especially in the Baltic Sea, where the inclusion of Finland and Sweden would offer NATO a military edge.
THE CRUITY OF THIS WAR
The Kremenchuk incident sparked a wave of international outrage.
U.N. political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council, "We have run out of words to characterise the senselessness, folly and cruelty of this war.
While Kyiv said there was no military target in the area, Russia's defence ministry claimed their missiles had hit a nearby armaments depot housing Western weaponry. When the depot detonated, a fire that started at the Kremenchuk mall adjacent spread to other neighbouring buildings.
Ludmyla Mykhailets, 43, who claimed to have been shopping there with her husband when the blast launched her into the air "head first," refuted Moscow's claim that the mall was empty.
Zelenskiy urged the Security Council to exclude Moscow from the UN, calling Moscow a "terrorist state" at the organisation. Zelenskiy was charged with using the address as part of a "PR campaign" for weaponry by Russia.
Western nations have sanctioned Russia, but they haven't been able to stop Moscow's primary source of income—oil and gas exports—from growing as the possibility of supply interruption has raised world prices.
The Group of Seven leaders announced a new strategy after their annual conference, leaving Russian oil on the market while setting a price cap.
In accordance with pledges made by the G7, the United States also slapped sanctions on more than 100 new targets and prohibited fresh imports of Russian gold.
