Ukraine war: Many feared dead in Luhansk after Russian air strike on a school
- Regional Governor fears as many as 60 people may have been killed in the bombing, but emergency services were able to rescue 30 people
- Russia set to mark Victory Day on Monday with MiG-29 fighter jets set to fly over Red Square forming the letter ‘Z’ – the mark of Russia’s assault in Ukraine
Ukrainian authorities have spoken of possibly up to 60 dead after a Russian air strike on a school in the Luhansk region in the heavily contested east of the country.
Two bodies have been recovered so far after an air strike on the school in Bilogorivka, the region’s Governor Serhiy Haidai announced on his Telegram channel on Sunday. “Probably all 60 people who are still under the rubble of the building are dead,” he added.
According to him, the air strike occurred as early as Saturday afternoon. In the school building, 90 people had sought shelter from the attacks. The bombing caused a fire to break out in the school and the building collapsed.
Emergency services were able to rescue 30 people, seven of whom were injured, the Governor said.
Bilogorivka is an urban settlement about 10 kilometres west of Lysychansk, which is under heavy Russian bombardment.
Luhansk and Donetsk together make up the Donbas region, where Russia has refocused its attacks since failing to make advances near the capital Kyiv and in other parts of Ukraine.
Pro-Russian separatists have been battling Ukrainian government forces in the region since 2014. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 was launched soon after it recognised the independence of two self-declared “people’s republics” in Luhansk and Donetsk.
