Russia Reports 28 Killed in Ukrainian Shelling of Bakery in Russian-Controlled City – Reuters

By Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW (Reuters) – On Sunday, Russian authorities reported that at least 28 people, including nine women and a child, were killed when Ukrainian armed forces targeted a bakery and restaurant in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine using Western-supplied rockets.

According to officials aligned with Russia, the attack occurred around 12:30 GMT on Saturday in the city of Lysychansk, where the U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) was reportedly used to strike the bakery.

Emergency services worked throughout the night to search for survivors amid the debris of the devastated Adriatic Restaurant situated on Moskovska Street, where a bakery was operating for local civilians.

“The armed forces of Ukraine opened fire on a bakery in Lysychansk,” stated Leonid Pasechnik, the Russian-installed leader of the Luhansk region currently under Russian control. Pasechnik claimed that the bakery was full of civilians at the time of the attack. Russia’s emergency ministry reported that ten individuals had been rescued from the debris alive, while four others were in “extremely grave condition,” and the search for additional survivors continued.

Ukraine has not yet released a statement regarding the incident, and verification of the weapons used has not been independently confirmed.

Since President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion in February 2022, Russia has gained control over substantial portions of eastern Ukraine, leading to the largest land conflict in Europe since World War II. Russia currently holds approximately 18% of Ukraine, claiming the territory is now part of its own land, a stance Ukraine and Western nations strongly oppose.

The Russian foreign ministry condemned the attack, asserting that the West should reconsider why its financial aid to Ukraine is allegedly being utilized to target civilians. “Preliminary data suggests that Western weapons were used in the strike,” remarked Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. “Citizens of the EU should be aware of how their taxes are being spent – they are financing deadly weaponry sent to the Kyiv regime, which uses it to kill civilians.”

While video shared by the Russian emergencies ministry matched with identifiable features of the bakery, the date of the footage and other specifics from the area annexed by Russia in July 2022 have not been independently verified. Ukrainian officials indicate that only about 10% of the pre-war population of 110,000 remains in Lysychansk.

Despite Ukraine regaining some territory from Russian forces in 2022, its counter-offensive in 2023 has struggled to penetrate fortified Russian defenses, leading to ongoing discussions among Ukraine’s Western allies regarding future military strategies. In the past month, Russian forces have reportedly seized an additional 56 square miles (140 square kilometers) of Ukrainian land.