(Kramatorsk) Two civilians were killed and ten injured by Russian strikes with “cluster munitions” on Saturday afternoon in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, announced Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the region from Donetsk.
The strikes hit a park, a funeral goods store as well as a dozen residential buildings and two cars, he said on Telegram.
“More than a hundred countries ban the use of cluster munitions, but Russia continues to use these weapons which release many smaller bombs and indiscriminately injure civilians,” Mr. Kyrylenko denounced.
A few hours earlier, the mayor of Donetsk, Alexander Gontcharenko, had reported two people killed and 8 injured, including 3 seriously, “consequences of the bombardment of Kramatorsk with cluster munitions”.
“Russia continues to reign terror,” castigated the city councilor on his Facebook page.
AFP journalists heard a dozen almost simultaneous explosions shortly before 4 p.m. local time and saw smoke rising in a park in the south of the city.
Shortly after, another dozen explosions of the same type were heard in a residential area about 2 km from the first strike.
In the park, a woman died on the spot as a result of her injuries caused by shrapnel ammunition, AFP journalists noted.
In the residential area, a taxi driver was seriously injured.
“She had come to see me briefly and was about to leave. I said goodbye to him, I closed the door and a few seconds later, I heard the explosions, ”told AFP Lena, at whose house the driver was.
“I ran outside and saw her lying on the ground by the fence, bleeding. We called the ambulance […] It’s frightening. I was lucky to be inside with my daughter when it all happened,” the 46-year-old added.
In front of the entrance gate of the house where it was parked, the red taxi car is riddled with shards of ammunition, the wheels are punctured and the windows broken, AFP noted.
It is the second time this week that the city has been targeted by Russian strikes. On Tuesday, a shelling in the center left one dead and three injured and six residential buildings were damaged.
1er February, a bombardment killed three people there.
A city of about 150,000 people before the Russian invasion launched more than a year ago, Kramatorsk is near Bakhmout, the epicenter of fighting for months.
Regularly bombarded by the Russian army, Kramatorsk has played the role of a regional center since the occupation of the city of Donetsk in 2014 by Russian and pro-Russian forces.
In April 2022, a Russian missile hit the city’s train station, killing around 60 civilians who were trying to flee the area.
Russia claimed the Donetsk region as its territory after annexation referendums deemed illegitimate.