Mykolaiv in Ukraine comes under heavy shelling as Putin threatens ‘extreme speed’
Mykolaiv mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said cluster bombs blew out windows and destroyed balconies. “Mykolaiv came under mass shelling today. Probably the most powerful shelling of all time,” he said in a statement.
A CNN team on the ground heard explosions caused by the strikes and saw fires break out during the shelling. Residents interviewed by CNN also said it was the heaviest shelling in the city since the war began.
According to Vitalii Kim, head of the military administration of the Mykolaiv region, at least one person was killed and two injured in the attack.
In a speech marking Russia’s Navy Day in Saint Petersburg, Putin did not mention Russia’s war in Ukraine, but said that “the current situation of his country calls for very decisive actions.”
“We will provide solid protection and in every way. The key here is the ability of the Navy, which can respond with lightning speed to anyone who decides to encroach on its sovereignty and our freedom,” Putin said.
War crimes accusations
At least three people were killed and eight injured, according to the Donetsk military-civilian government, which said villages in the area were targeted by artillery, Russian Grad missiles and Uragan missiles.
“Eleven private residential buildings and one high-rise, police station, market, and canteen were damaged, and three fields were burned,” the government said.
The General Staff of Ukraine said that Russian forces were attacking the front lines in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
“Everything is being sorted out. “We just need a decision from the people themselves, who have not made a decision for themselves.”
UK Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons said the strike was part of a pattern of “the worst kind of human rights abuses” on her twitter on Saturday. “Olenivka needs investigation. It seems like part of an increasingly disturbing pattern of the worst kind of human rights abuses and war crimes that can happen in occupied Eastern Ukraine with impunity. fine,” the ambassador tweeted.
Zelensky said the attack was “a deliberate war crime by the Russians.”
Ukrainian intelligence said the strikes were carried out by the Russian mercenary group Wagner and were not coordinated by the Russian Defense Ministry. CNN was unable to independently verify the allegations by Ukrainian military intelligence.
Russia blamed Ukraine for the attack.