Donetsk Region, Ukraine (AP) – a Russian Glide Bomb On Tuesday morning, people raided villages in eastern Ukraine as they lined up outdoors to collect their monthly pensions. The explosion killed at least 24 people and injured 19 people, Ukraine’s emergency services said.
In related developments, Polish forces raised vigilance early on Tuesday and Wednesday as described as “a further massive airstrike on targets in Ukraine.”
“To ensure the safety of Polish airspace, the Polish Army’s operational commanders have activated all necessary procedures. Polish aircraft and Allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, and ground air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the highest level of alert,” the Polish Army’s operational order said.
He said the action is “preventive” and is designed to secure the country’s airspace and protect people in “regions adjacent to the threatened area.”
A Russian glide bomb on Tuesday struck Yaroba in the Donetsk region around 11am. The village is less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the front line. Donetsk Regional Head Vadym Filashkin said 23 deaths were pensioners.
Yaroba resident Hennadi Trushi said his wife was killed in the explosion while waiting to collect pensions for her bedridden mother. Trush then ran away with Yarova with his older mother. He was carried on a stretcher.
The shock and suit are still on his face, so Trush cried when he explained the scene of the attack. “It was beyond words,” he told The Associated Press. “Previously, a strike landed in the suburbs. This time it was in the heart of the village.”
It was the latest Russian attack to kill civilians. More than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been murdered Three Years Warsays the United Nations.
“Frankly brutal” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy A post about the telegram of the attack on Tuesday urged the international community to pay Russia economically. A full-scale invasion Through additional sanctions.
“The world should not be silent,” Zelensky wrote. “The world is not remaining inactive. The US needs a response. Europe needs a response. The G20 needs a response. Strong actions are needed to stop Russia from stopping death.”
US-led and Peace efforts will not advance Over the past few months, Russia has escalated the Ukrainian air barrage. On Sunday, Russia attacked the capital Kiev, putting drones and missiles in it. Maximum air attack This is the first time since the war began on February 24, 2022.
“The whole village is on fire.”
Pablo Diachenko, the communications director for Donetsk Regional Police, said he arrived at the scene of Yarova shortly after the strike.
“The photos were horrifying. The whole village is on fire,” he told the Associated Press. “Personal homes were on fire, and people tried to put out the flames with their own hands. There were many drones above them.”
Yarova is located north of Lyman in Donetsk city, the area where Russia has recently stepped up its attacks as Russia investigates weaknesses in Ukraine’s defense and moves into the northern part of the region.
Despite the risks, Many people remain at home Because they have no means of relocation or need to take care of older relatives with disabilities.
Russia is escalating air attacks
Russia is expanding air attacks despite the US President’s attempts to persuade Russia’s counterpart Vladimir Putin Please agree to a ceasefire and participate in peace negotiations Zelenskyy and – a proposal supported by Ukraine.
Council of Europe President Antonio Costa replied the Kremlin for that Repeated strikes against civilians.
“Does this mean when Russia talks about peace?” Costa asked on social media. “When will President Putin accept that he will launch peace negotiations accepted by President Zelensky?”
The major barrage has prompted concerns that Ukraine is using up its air defense faster than it could replace it with its Western allies.
We and the European officials Met at the US Treasury Department On Monday evening, someone familiar with the conference told the Associated Press to discuss the various forms of economic pressures exerted on Russia, including new sanctions and tariffs on Russia’s oil purchases.
Consultations were expected to continue on Tuesday.
Retirements are on the pension
Sliding bomb Soviet weapons that have been wasted in eastern Ukraine for several months have been renovated. Some of them currently weigh 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms), six times the time they were first used in the 2022 battles.
In Ukrainian villages where there are no ATMs and older people are new to digital banking, pensions are generally delivered to local post offices on certain days of each month. Retirees line up to pick up pensions with cash.
Photos and videos of the scene posted to the official Ukrainian channel show the body lying around a damaged white car with yellow branding parked under a tree.
The vehicle damaged in the attack was a mobile post office, Maksym Sutkovyi, network development director for Dnipro and Donetsk regions at Ukrposhta, said in a telephone interview.
After the last two staff members decided to evacuate, the village post office was closed just a week ago, he said. It was the only place where locals could collect pensions, replenish cell phone accounts, and buy important items.
Ukraine’s national postmaster Ukraine said the company is constantly changing its security procedures. Ihor Smilianskyi said the car was parked under a tree to reduce the risk of being spotted by enemies.
“But it appears that someone handed out the coordinates,” Smilianskyi wrote on Facebook.
The territory was occupied by Russia in 2022, but was released by Ukrainian forces in counterattacks later that same year.
Victims show explosion, burns
The dead were taken to a local morgue. Several groups lay in the intake hall as the forensic team tried to identify them. Many people died of explosive injuries.
Zinaida Hrymailo went there to identify the body of her cousin, a 75-year-old woman killed on a strike. “They were all lying on one mountain. My sister was completely burned,” Hrymailo said.
According to Hrymailo, when her cousin died collecting pensions, her paralyzed husband stayed in the village alone.
Her cousin added that after collecting her pension, she was preparing to leave Yaroba. “Everything was ready, so they were going to leave.”
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Novikov reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Fatima Hussein contributed to this report from Washington.
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