Dozens of people were killed in a bombing raid on Friday at a barracks in southern Ukraine, in the city of Mikolaiv, witnesses told AFP news agency Saturday, as rescue operations continue.
“There were at least 200 soldiers sleeping in the barracks,” said Maxim, a 22-year-old military man interviewed at the scene. “At least 50 bodies have been recovered and we don't know how many are left under the rubble,” said the young soldier.
Evgeny, another soldier on the spot, estimated that the dead could reach 100.
“We keep counting, but it's impossible, because of the state of the bodies,” said one rescuer, interviewed by the AFP.
The place, which is located north of this city, was completely devastated after being hit by six rockets on Friday morning. There is no official information about the balance sheet.
The Russians “cowardly attacked sleeping soldiers,” said the region's governor, Vitaly Kim, in a video posted on Facebook.
Mikolaiv and his region are the scene of intense Russian fighting and bombing. This is a strategic location because it is the last stage before the large port city of Odessa.
Vladimir Putin's troops intensified their attacks and used hypersonic missiles on Ukrainian territory
The Russian Ministry of Defense assured this Saturday that it used hypersonic missiles “Kinjal” the previous day to destroy an underground weapons depot in western Ukraine.
“On March 18, the Kinjal aeronautical complex, with its hypersonic ballistic missiles, destroyed a major underground depot of missiles and ammunition of Ukrainian aviation in the town of Deliatin, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region,” announced the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense, Igor Konashenkov.
This region is located about 50 km from the border with Romania, a NATO member country.
Russia had not so far reported the use of this ballistic missile in the two conflicts in which it is involved, in Syria and in Ukraine. Yes, he had deployed it in maneuvers since he successfully tested it in 2018.
According to the press agency Ria Novosti, this is the first time they would have been used in the invasion of Ukraine.
This type of missile, very manageable, challenges all air defense systems, according to Moscow.
The hypersonic ballistic missiles “Kinjal” and the cruise missiles “Zircon” belong to a family of new weapons developed by Russia and which President Vladimir Putin calls “invincible”.
The “Kinjal”, Russian word meaning dagger, achieved all their targets during the 2018 trials at a distance of more than 1,000 km, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
In another order, the White House downplayed the “threats” made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov against US President Joe Biden's decision to send more than $800 million (about 727.7 million euros) in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Specifically, the Russian Foreign Minister stressed on Friday that any military cargo delivered to Ukraine in the context of the conflict unleashed on February 24 will be considered “a legitimate target” by the Russian Army.
(With information from AFP and EFE)
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