Attack on Sloviansk
"I heard a woman screaming, 'there's a child here, there's a child here' — She was screaming so much."
Resident of Park Lane, Sloviansk
These are heart-breaking images of the search and rescue efforts of the Ukrainian State Emergencies Services at the apartment block in Park Lane, Sloviansk, struck by a Russian S-300 missile at 4:00 pm on Orthodox Good Friday, April 14.
Sloviansk lies in a part of the Donetsk region that is under Ukrainian control, and very close to the frontline battle raging in Bakhmut. According to the Ukrainian authorities, Sloviansk was struck by seven missiles which hit five buildings, five homes, a school and an administrative building.
Larisa, a 59-year old resident, told AFP that she lives opposite the apartment complex, and she was sleeping at the time of the attack. She ran out to see what had happened.
"I was really scared and in a state of shock," she said, adding that the impact of the shelling had broken her windows and sent shards of glass flying throughout her home.
The current death toll stands at nine people, including a two-year boy, who was pulled from the rubble but died on the way to the hospital, and twenty-two injured.
Vadym Liakh, Head of the Slovyansk Town Military Administration posted on Facebook that, "[f]ive people remain under the rubble of a house in Parkovyi Lane. Their identities have been established. In addition, we do not have information about the residents of three more apartments".
The rescue operations are still on-going and a special unit of climbers has been called in to assist in the operations.
The Russian forces have been launching S-300 missiles, which are known for their inaccuracy, for short-range attacks into Ukrainian residential areas in broad daylight.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said, "For every act of terrorism, there will be fair accountability. We will not leave any trace of Russia on our land. And we will not leave any enemy unpunished."
In an unexpected Telegram post, Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner forces, advised Moscow to “announce the end of the special military operation, stop the offensive and focus only on defending the territories under its control," signalling, perhaps, the difficulties of continuing the Russian offensive in Bakhmut, and along the front.
Putin and his inner circle aren’t paying him any heed. The attack on the residents of Sloviansk occurred as Putin signed “a bill that will make it easier to mobilize citizens into the army and block them from fleeing the country if drafted,” as reported by Jonathan Brown for AFP.
Apr 15: Attack on Sloviansk