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Orphanage
under fire as Kiev forces shell Slavyansk
Several buildings, including an orphanage, have been severely damaged by artillery fire in Slavyansk, eastern Ukraine, where fighting between self-defense troops and Kiev’s army renewed over the weekend.
RT.
1
June, 2014
Fortunately,
there were no casualties among children at Sails of Hope orphanage,
as all of them were evacuated after the building previously came
under fire on May 19.
This
is the third time that the orphanage has been shelled. Its windows
are now shattered, and its roof and walls are riddled with bullets.
There is a massive hole under a window. The building is likely to not
be repaired, meaning Sails of Hope will be forced to find a new home.
On
Wednesday, the Ukrainian military shelled a
residential area of Slavyansk, hitting a children’s hospital, a
school, and a kindergarten.
Another
facility shelled on Sunday, the Scientific and Research Institute of
High Voltages, is some six kilometers away from the orphanage. The
building sustained severe destruction, as a mine exploded on the road
in front of it. According to reports, five civilians received
shrapnel wounds.
Walking
distance from the institute, the Slavtyazhmash plant – which
produces heavy machinery for coal mining – was also targeted by
artillery fire. As a result, part of the building burst into flames.
“The
plant was fired at from Karachun Mountain, where the Ukrainian army’s
artillery is deployed,” RIA
Novosti quoted a self-defense representative as saying.
The
already turbulent situation in Donetsk and Donetsk region – where
the city of Slavyansk is located – significantly deteriorated after
the presidential elections on May 25, when Ukrainian troops
intensified a military operation in eastern Ukraine.
Meanwhile,
several funerals of those killed in Monday’s shelling were held in
Slavyansk on Wednesday. According to the latest reports, four people
have died from shrapnel wounds since then.
While
Kiev authorities continue to assert that the military action in the
southeast is meant to protect the people against “terrorists,” many
on the ground in Slavyansk have a directly opposite opinion on the
issue.
“We
are simply horrified – you see? Horrified that our 'brave army,'
which we pay taxes to maintain, is [doing] nothing else but
destroying us. And our president, who must protect the civilian
population – he is determined to exterminate us,” a
woman working at the damaged school no. 13 told RT’s Ruptly news
agency.
“For
some reason, they think that we here in Slavyansk are all
terrorists,” the
woman said.
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