Ukraine says two civilians killed at aid distribution point, east under heavy fire

[April 06, 2022]  By Natalia Zinets and Max Hunder

(Reuters) -Russian artillery fire killed at least two people and wounded five at a humanitarian aid distribution point on Wednesday as Moscow's forces bombarded towns and cities in eastern Ukraine, local officials said.

Authorities in the eastern region of Luhansk urged civilians to evacuate "while it is safe," warning that Russian bombardments could cut off escape routes.

Ukraine says Russian troops that invaded on Feb. 24 are regrouping and preparing for a new offensive in the Donbas area, which includes both the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko shared online photos from the town of Vuhledar, where he said Russian artillery fire had struck a humanitarian aid distribution point.

The photos showed two women stretched out on the ground. Another person had a serious leg wound and a fourth was shown with a bloodied leg, being helped into a rescue vehicle.

"At the moment it's known that two people were killed and five were injured. We document all the crimes committed by the Russian Federation on our land," Kyrylenko wrote.

Russia has denied targeting civilians. Reuters was unable immediately to verify Kyrlyenko's account of the incident.

Local officials reported fighting in many part of eastern Ukraine and there were also reports of shelling and fighting in the south, where the port city of Mariupol is surrounded and under siege from Russian forces.
 

Mariupol's capture could enable Russia to entrench a land passage between two separatist, self-proclaimed people's republics in Donbas and the Crimea region which Russia seized and annexed in 2014.

CALL TO EVACUATE

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Ukraine was trying to evacuate trapped civilians through 11 humanitarian corridors across Ukraine, but that people trying to flee Mariupol would have to use their own vehicles.

Rescuers evacuate a person from a residential building damaged by a military strike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, is seen in Lysychansk, Luhansk region, Ukraine in this handout picture released March 30, 2022. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS

The city mayor said last week up to 170,000 civilians were trapped in Mariupol with no power and dwindling supplies.

The Luhansk region governor, Serhiy Gaidai, said Russian forces now controlled 60% of the eastern town of Rubizhne and reported 81 mortar, artillery and rocket strikes across the region over the previous day.

"I appeal to every resident of the Luhansk region - evacuate while it is safe," he wrote in an online post earlier on Wednesday. "While there are buses and trains - take this opportunity."

Gaidai said rail connections in the Donetsk region of Donbas had been damaged this week and took several hours to repair.

"This is another alarm bell," he said.

Gaidai said separately that Russian forces were destroying "everything in their path" and would "stop at nothing."

Russia says its "special military operation" is aimed at demilitarizing and "denazifying" Ukraine. The Kremlin's position is rejected by Ukraine and the West as a pretext for an unprovoked invasion.

(Editing by Timothy Heritage)

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