Ukraine accuses Russian soldiers of shooting civilians

Photo: Press service of the 24th Brigade via Agence France-Presse Ukrainian serviceman of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade at a position near Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region.

Agence France-Presse

Published at 12:36

• Europe

Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said Sunday it had opened an investigation into possible shootings by Russian troops at civilians in an eastern city that has been the scene of fighting between Kiev and Moscow.

The prosecutor’s office said it was investigating “shooting at a civilian car” and possible “killings of civilians” in Selydove, Donetsk region.

They said they were basing their investigation on a video posted by a Telegram channel linked to the Ukrainian military, the authenticity of which could not be immediately verified by AFP, as well as press reports.

On Thursday, Russian soldiers “allegedly fired automatic weapons at a civilian car in the town,” the prosecutor general’s office said. prosecutor.

Two civilians were inside, one of whom was injured before being rescued by Ukrainian soldiers, the source said.

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The drone video, screenshots of which were shared by the prosecutor's office, shows a person rushing out of a car, before walking around it and opening a door. In a subtitle, we can read that the vehicle found itself “under enemy fire.”

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Two soldiers then remove a clearly injured person from the car to evacuate him to a building neighbor.

The video was released on Saturday by the Telegram channel “Ghost of Khortytsia,” which claims to be that of a Ukrainian army unit.

It is not clear, however, when, where, or who the people in the video were shot.

The prosecutor’s office also said it was investigating reports that Russian soldiers opened fire on two women and that “bodies of civilians” had been found in areas under Russian control.

Russian troops, on the offensive in eastern Ukraine, recently entered Selydove, and fighting has been raging in the town, which has already been badly damaged by the strikes and largely abandoned by its population.

Selydove is located about fifteen kilometers from Pokrovsk, an urban center and logistical hub of the Ukrainian army, which Russian forces are determined to seize.

New Russian advance in the Donetsk region

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Sunday the conquest of a village in eastern Ukraine, very close to the industrial city of Kurakhove, which Moscow's forces are now at the gates of.

Russian soldiers have taken the village of Izmailivka, the ministry said in a statement.

This industrial city seems to be in the process of being conquered by Moscow's troops, which have been closing in on it in recent weeks, forcing many of its inhabitants to flee.

Further north, the large city of Pokrovsk, an important logistical hub for Ukrainian troops, is also under threat.

kyiv hoped to divert Moscow's troops from its territory by launching a surprise offensive in the Russian region of Kursk in early August. But this strategy has not worked so far.

The Russian Defense Ministry also announced Sunday morning that it had shot down 51 Ukrainian drones over its territory during the night.

Agence France-Presse