Kiev shifts blame for school shelling
The shelling of a high school in Ukraine’s rebel stronghold of Donetsk has chilled even the battle-hardened in the weary nation.
The killing of two teenagers as they were playing soccer after lunch on Wednesday is a stark reminder that the ceasefire agreed upon in September has only really ever existed on paper.
Four other students were wounded, according to Vladimir Voropayev, chief of the children’s trauma unit at the regional hospital in Donetsk.
The warring sides — government troops on one side and pro-Russian separatists on the other — now look as far from any lasting settlement as they ever were.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki condemned the shelling of the school.
On the soccer field at Donetsk’s school No 63, two bloodied coats could still be seen on Thursday as relatives and staff gathered at the scene.
Alexander Yeliseyev, the father of one victim, 18-year-old Andrei, walked by in shock as he gathered belongings left behind when his son’s body was removed — a dark brown coat and a pair of sneakers.
“They went to play football at about 2pm, while I was at work. And then the shelling began. Here you see the result,” he said.
He said 14-year-old Danya, another student, was also killed.
Government spokesman Andriy Lysenko said preliminary information indicated the shells flew into the school from a location controlled by separatist forces. The rebels, however, swiftly blamed Ukrainian forces for the deadly attack, saying government troops often indiscriminately target residential areas.
All that is certain so far is that the school where the shells landed is at least 2km from the nearest government position but close to rebel posts.
Two mortars had landed at the school premises on Wednesday: one next to a concrete porch by the school, shattering a few windows.
The one that killed the students landed behind a goalpost, scorching the ground and leaving a small crater.
Oksana Safonova’s son, 11-year-old Kirill, was lucky to sustain only wounds to the shoulder, hip and ribs. Quick thinking may have saved his life.
“He said to me: ‘Mum, we got down on the ground and then the mortar landed next to me. I passed out. It hurt so bad. Then I realised that I don’t want to die and I came around’,” Ms Safonova said.
(Associated Press)
The killing of two teenagers as they were playing soccer after lunch on Wednesday is a stark reminder that the ceasefire agreed upon in September has only really ever existed on paper.
Four other students were wounded, according to Vladimir Voropayev, chief of the children’s trauma unit at the regional hospital in Donetsk.
The warring sides — government troops on one side and pro-Russian separatists on the other — now look as far from any lasting settlement as they ever were.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki condemned the shelling of the school.
On the soccer field at Donetsk’s school No 63, two bloodied coats could still be seen on Thursday as relatives and staff gathered at the scene.
Alexander Yeliseyev, the father of one victim, 18-year-old Andrei, walked by in shock as he gathered belongings left behind when his son’s body was removed — a dark brown coat and a pair of sneakers.
“They went to play football at about 2pm, while I was at work. And then the shelling began. Here you see the result,” he said.
He said 14-year-old Danya, another student, was also killed.
Government spokesman Andriy Lysenko said preliminary information indicated the shells flew into the school from a location controlled by separatist forces. The rebels, however, swiftly blamed Ukrainian forces for the deadly attack, saying government troops often indiscriminately target residential areas.
All that is certain so far is that the school where the shells landed is at least 2km from the nearest government position but close to rebel posts.
Two mortars had landed at the school premises on Wednesday: one next to a concrete porch by the school, shattering a few windows.
The one that killed the students landed behind a goalpost, scorching the ground and leaving a small crater.
Oksana Safonova’s son, 11-year-old Kirill, was lucky to sustain only wounds to the shoulder, hip and ribs. Quick thinking may have saved his life.
“He said to me: ‘Mum, we got down on the ground and then the mortar landed next to me. I passed out. It hurt so bad. Then I realised that I don’t want to die and I came around’,” Ms Safonova said.
(Associated Press)
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