Residents of the city of Sloviansk are moved to safe areas after heavy shelling
Fears in Europe of an imminent Russian gas stop were raised on Wednesday with a negative war report for Ukraine. The intense bombardment to which Moscow forces subjected the eastern city of Sloviansk, in the Donbas region, has led to mass evacuation of its inhabitants.
Of the 100,000 inhabitants the city had before the Russian invasion, only 23,000 were left who were taken to safe areas. “Every day we take people out. Many were evacuated by bus to Dnipro, further west,” said Sloviansk mayor Vadym Lyaj, noting that the Russians had not yet managed to encircle the municipality, although he reported that the attacks have already led to 17 killed and 67 injured.
Vitaliy, a plumber, said his wife and daughter, who is six months pregnant, have been evacuated from Sloviansk. “Here, after what happened on Tuesday, when they attacked the city center, we have to leave,” he told AFP.
Sunday’s fall of the strategic city of Lisichansk has cleared the way for troops from Moscow to Donetsk province, the last they have left to occupy in Donbas, where the attacks do not stop.
“The enemy fires chaotically and aims to destroy the local population. So again, my main advice is to evacuate,” Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko explained in a message to the Ukrainian media, indicating that beware Tuesday five civilians were killed and another 21 were injured.
The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday reported attacks on the northeastern city of Kharkiv with “precision weapons” that allegedly killed 150 Ukrainian soldiers. Other areas were also hit by rockets and artillery, the Kiev authorities said. Meanwhile, the Kremlin said it is investigating the alleged torture of Russian soldiers captured in Ukraine who were recently released as part of a prisoner swap.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the Defense Ministry’s decision to prevent military-age men from leaving their city without permission “a mistake,” announced Tuesday. The president said the measure had been lifted after a meeting with representatives of the ministry and military authorities.
Source: La Verdad

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