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Over 70 Ukrainian soldiers killed after Russian strike on military base in Okhtyrka
The Guardian reported that more than 70 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in Okhtyrka, a city between Kharkiv and Kyiv, after a Russian strike on a military base.
The region’s head, Dmytro Zhyvytskyy, posted photographs on Telegram of the charred shell of a four-storey building and rescuers searching rubble following Monday’s strike.
According to some reports, shelling or missiles hit a building being used as a base by the Ukrainian military as well as fuel tanks, with one local official claiming a fuel air explosive had been used although that could not be independently confirmed. Video from the time of the attack showed a column of thick black smoke above the town.
In a later Facebook post, Zhyvytskyy said many Russian soldiers and some local residents died in the bombardment too.
Okhtyrka mayor Pavlo Kuzmenko posted on Facebook, saying: “Again, the enemy is waging a vile war. A fuel-air bomb was dropped on an oil depot, oil tanks were blown up.”
The news came amid reports on Tuesday morning that Russian soldiers had entered the southern city of Kherson.
Meanwhile a Russian convoy of armoured vehicles, tanks and other military equipment about 40 miles long (64km) was approaching Kyiv on Tuesday, satellite images suggested, as lawmakers in Washington voiced fears of a “long and bloody” fight ahead.
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US senators sounded the warning after receiving classified briefings on Monday night that brought to life the spectre of a protracted battle over the capital and “street to street combat” in Kyiv against Russian forces who have been frustrated by a fierce resistance and their own logistical failures.
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The Russian armoured convoy was 17 miles (25km) from the centre of the Ukrainian capital, a city normally home to three million, according to the US satellite company Maxar. Its photos also showed deployments of ground forces and ground attack helicopter units in southern Belarus, amid concerns its president, Alexander Lukashenko, could send troops to help Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces in the next 24 hours.
Source: theguardian
