Nearly 60 Feared Dead After Russia Bombs School Building Sheltering Civilians, Ukraine Says

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Topline

Nearly 60 people are feared dead after a Russian bomb struck a school building in the eastern Ukrainian village of Bilohorivka, the Ukrainian governor of the Luhansk region said on Sunday, as Russia continues to ramp up strikes and shelling in the eastern Ukraine even as its war campaign remains largely stalled.

File Photo of a Ukraine army soldier walking in the town of Schastia, near the eastern Ukraine city … [+] of Luhansk.

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

In a post on Telegram, Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai claimed that Russian forces bombed a school building that was sheltering around 90 people on Saturday.

Rescuers were able to douse a fire that raged for nearly four hours after the strike and managed to rescue around 30 people, Gaidai said.

Emergency workers also managed to recover the bodies of two boys aged between 11 and 14 who were killed in the strike.

The governor added that he believes that sixty other people who were sheltering in the building have likely died under the rubble.

Russian forces continued to strike major cities across Ukraine over the weekend, including the key port city of Odesa and the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Russian-occupied Mariupol.

What To Watch For

Moscow is set to celebrate ‘Victory Day’ on Monday to mark the former Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War 2. Ukrainian officials have warned of more intense Russian strikes in the lead up to May 9, as Russia seeks some symbolic victories on the battlefield. According to the Associated Press, Moscow is aiming to complete its conquest of Mariupol by taking control of the Azovstal steel plant from Ukrainian defenders after civilians were evacuated.

Big Number

3,153. That is the number of civilians that have died in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began, according to the United Nations. However, this number only includes deaths that have been confirmed, and both Ukrainian and UN officials say that the actual toll is “considerably higher.”