At least 27 killed in Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine (authorities)

At least 27 people were killed on Thursday in the Kharkov region of northeastern Ukraine by Russian bombings, local authorities reported.

“Russian soldiers fired artillery shots on the city of Merefa, in the Kharkiv region, at around 03H30 (01H30 GMT) on Thursday. They destroyed a school and a cultural center, 21 people were killed and 25 were injured, 10 of whom are in serious condition,” the regional prosecutor's office reported on its Facebook account.

In addition, at least six other people were killed by cluster bombs thrown in a village about fifty kilometers north of Kharkiv city, Kozacha Lopan, as noted on Facebook by the mayor of the neighbouring village of Derguatchi, Vyatcheslav Zadorenko.

“The occupants bombed the station, shops, pharmacies and other civilian buildings in the center of town,” he said, noting that the military infrastructure had not been damaged.

According to the regional prosecutor's office, which published two photos of buildings damaged by the explosions in Merefa, the debris had already begun.

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