KIEV/SLAVIANSK, May 28 (RIA Novosti) – At least ten civilians were wounded Wednesday in an army attack on Ukraine’s southeastern city of Slaviansk, as pro-regime troops continued their “anti-terror operation” (ATO) with machine gun and heavy weapons fire.
“At least ten civilians in Slaviansk were injured, according to the ATO Command’s spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov,” Ukraine’s Channel 5 reported.
Troops loyal to Kiev began firing mortars at around noon local time, a RIA Novosti correspondent in Slaviansk said. The attack mainly targeted a residential district, with one round impacting a school.
According to the correspondent, a kindergarten is located just 20 meters away from the school, though it was not damaged. There was no immediate information about child casualties.
Seleznyov said the troops had managed to destroy a Nona mobile mortar system that self-defense forces allegedly used to fire back at its camp, but the federalists did not confirm the report.
Ukraine’s heavily armed forces have been mounting mortar attacks against restive Slaviansk. Mortar fire earlier razed several private homes, including houses in the villages of Andreevka and Sergeevka in the city’s suburbs. Residents have taken shelter in cellars.
