Global Courant 2023-05-13 12:16:26
Explosions have rocked the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk, which is occupied by Russian forces and is an important hub for Moscow’s so-called “special military operation”, according to local officials.
The head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, Leonid Pasechnik, blamed Ukraine for the attack, calling it “another attempt by the terrorist regime in Kiev to intimidate civilians”.
“Firefighters and all emergency services are on the scene. The circumstances of the event and information about the victims are being clarified,” he said.
Pasechnik said the city’s Leninsky district was shelled on “Republic Day,” which is a holiday in the breakaway region.
Two rockets hit the city’s industrial zone, the LPR coordinating committee said on Telegram. The committee claimed that the Ukrainian-made Grom missile system was used.
The Grom is a ballistic missile that would have the range to hit Luhansk and has been used in the conflict before. But no evidence that it was used in this attack was provided by local authorities in Luhansk.
The city has rarely been attacked by Ukrainian forces since the Russian invasion, as it is beyond the range of their missiles and long-range missile systems, such as HIMARS.
A Telegram account said there had been two explosions and that smoke was visible over the city. A video posted online shows a huge plume of black smoke.
Russian news agency TASS quoted a former official in Luhansk as saying that “for the first time Ukrainian armed forces have used missiles with a range of 150 kilometers (about 93 miles),” after at least two explosions in the city late Friday. . TASS quoted retired lieutenant colonel of the Militia of the Luhansk People’s Republic, Andrei Marochko, but said there was no official confirmation of the information.
The United Kingdom announced this week that Storm Shadow cruise missiles had been transferred to Ukraine. They are usually launched from the air.
Ukraine has not commented on any attack against Russian forces in Luhansk.
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