Death and devastation among the remains of Mikolaiv's military barracks bombed

From the face covered in dust, only the piercing blue eyes of the soldier stand out... alive, evacuated from the rubble, thirty hours after a terrible attack on a military barracks in Mikolaiv, which left dozens of people dead.

It was a journalist present at the scene who heard noises under the rubble on Saturday morning and alerted rescuers. After digging with their hands for an hour, they manage to pull it out. On the stretcher, the injured, in shock, looks at the stretcher bearers and tries to speak.

According to testimonies collected at the scene of rescuers and soldiers by AFP, six rockets hit the barracks - originally, a school for young officers - around six o'clock in the morning on Friday. “A big explosion,” explains Nikolai, a neighbor of the neighborhood, of which several buildings were damaged.

“No less than 200 soldiers were sleeping in the barracks,” says Maxim, a 22-year-old soldier, who arrived from another nearby post, and who watches the scene with a stunned air. “At least 50 bodies have been removed, but we don't know how many are left under the rubble,” the young soldier continues.

Evgeni, another soldier on the spot, estimates that the attacks could have killed a hundred people.

Impossible at the moment to have an official balance or other elements about the attack. The information remains blocked, when the official speech wants Mikolaiv, “shield” of Odessa, the great strategic port located 130 km further west, to resist and reject the attacks of Russian troops.

Authorities have been saying for several days that enemy forces have been pushed into Kherson, a city controlled by Russia further east. But the deadly attacks, which have already affected civilians and military positions for two weeks, do not stop.

- Shattered bodies -

“We are not allowed to say anything, because the rescue operations have not ended and not all families have been notified,” explains in Ukrainian and then in Russian Olga Malarchuk, a military spokesman, visibly moved.

“We are not yet in a position to announce a balance sheet and I can't tell you how many soldiers were present,” he adds. The Ukrainian presidency does not answer questions about this bombing. In a video posted on Facebook, Mikolaiv's regional governor Vitali Kim said: “Yesterday the orcs cowardly launched missile attacks on sleeping soldiers,” adding that he was waiting for more official information from the armed forces.

On site, rescuers and firefighters have been working tirelessly since Friday, accompanied by the disturbing sound of the excavator that cleans the huge pile of stones, concrete and twisted metal bars.

Rescuers place a bloody arm and a piece of human torso on a canvas. Later, three bodies, one of them covered with a white sheet, are pulled out of the rubble. The victims' military bags and bulletproof vests are gathered in a corner.

A few meters from the destroyed barracks, another less damaged building still houses a bedroom and some offices. All the windows are broken and there are military boots scattered on the floor.

A small painting of a religious icon, as well as photos of soldiers, have resisted hanging on the wall. A grey stone plaque, depicting a sailor leaning on a rifle and ships in the background, remains standing in the middle of this spectacle of desolation. It was probably going to be placed at the entrance of the exploded barracks. You can still read a poem whose first words are: “Combat! You will win.”

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