Slavjansk in Ukraine under fire - 4 killed - also a 4 year old girl
Slavyansk under fire, without water and power as Kiev troops resume shelling
Death and destruction is reported in eastern Ukraine as Kiev’s artillery has resumed shelling the rebellious city of Slavyansk. Locals tell RT they have been without running water and power for days, and that hope is fading.
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“The shells broke just near the central square. They hit residential houses, a furniture factory, a cafe and communications post,” an unnamed representative of the local city council told Itar-Tass. “There are victims among the civilians and some people received shrapnel wounds.”
“At this time there were many people in the center because of the Pentecost Mass in the nearby church has just ended,” the source added.
Four people were killed in the result of the shelling, a small girl among them. Seven people were taken to hospital with injuries, RT's correspondent Andrey Krasnoschyokov reports from the scene.
A little girl, thought to be 4 years old, is among dead. According to Krasnoschyokov, she died in a fire at a local leisure center.
“A shell felt nearby and set the building on fire. It is not clear if the girl was inside or outside. I arrived at the scene when firefighters were putting out the fire and one of the self-defense told me he carried out the body of this girl. He said she was four, but this could be his assumption,” Krasnoschyokov said.
Kiev’s artillery also has hit a gas pipe in the city, but there was no explosion threat, the city council told RIA Novosti. Another shell struck a petrol station outside Slavyansk, and a blast and fire followed.
The city survives without tap water, electricity and communications
Slavyansk residents say their spirits are getting lower, as the city is completely surrounded by Kiev’s armed forces and there is constant shooting and shelling while evacuation is hindered.
“Slavyansk has been attacked by massive shelling overnight,” a local resident told RT, adding that the shelling never stops.
As the man was speaking to RT in the morning, he saw massive columns of smoke coming from the city outskirts. The sounds of shelling were heard distinctly over the phone.