MOSCOW, July 29 (RIA Novosti) - A 3-year old child and 12 passengers were injured as a bus carrying refugees in eastern Ukraine came under fire, the head of the South-Eastern Front information center said Tuesday.
“As a result of the firing, a 3-year old kid and around 12 passengers suffered gunshot wounds,” Konstantin Knyrik said in an interview with Rossiya 24.
He added that one of the passengers has been severely wounded. The bus carried mostly women and the residents of Ukraine’s eastern regions seeking to flee from the region’s conflict.
Kiev has been leading a military operation in southeastern Ukraine since mid-April, trying to suppress the protests against the new authorities that have refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new government. The fighting intensified after the Donetsk and Luhansk regions proclaimed themselves independent people’s republics. Hundreds of people, including civilians have died in both regions over the past months.
Moscow has described the ongoing military action as a punitive operation and has repeatedly called on Kiev to put an immediate end to the bloodshed. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has also urged the international community to intervene and investigate the crimes against humanity that have occurred in Ukraine in recent months.
According to the UN report, the conflict has claimed the lives of 1,129 civilians since mid-April till July 26, and 3,442 civilians were injured.
