Moscow accused Kyiv of killing at least 28 people, including 9 women and a child, when its armed forces bombed a bakery and a restaurant in eastern Ukraine, controlled by Russia, using rockets obtained from Western powers. This coincided with President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to his country’s forces on the southeastern front amid speculation about the imminent dismissal of the popular army commander.
Russian-backed officials stated that Ukraine bombed the bakery in Lysychansk around 12:30 GMT on Saturday using the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), a multiple rocket launcher system mounted on light armored vehicles, obtained from the United States.
Russian emergency workers searched overnight for survivors under the rubble of the Adriatic restaurant on Moskovska Street, where a bakery for civilians was established according to Russian officials. Leonid Pasechnik, the governor of the Luhansk region controlled by Russian forces, said, “The Ukrainian armed forces opened fire on a bakery in Lysychansk.” Pasechnik explained that the bakery was crowded with civilians at the time of the shelling.
“Serious Conditions”
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that 10 people were pulled alive from the rubble, but four others are in “very serious condition,” and the search operation is still ongoing.
Ukraine has not immediately commented on the attack. The weapons used in the attack could not be verified.
Russia has controlled vast areas of eastern Ukraine after its invasion in February 2022, in the largest land war in Europe since World War II. Russia currently controls approximately 18% of Ukrainian territory, considering it part of Russia. Ukraine and the West have stated they will never accept the annexation of these lands.
Restaurant
The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the Ukrainian attack, stating that the West should reconsider why its financial support to Kyiv is used to kill civilians. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, “According to preliminary data, the strike was carried out using Western weapons.” She added, “EU citizens should know how their taxes are used… they are used to buy lethal weapons and send them to the regime in Kyiv, which uses them to kill civilians.”
Reuters verified the location of a video published by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations by matching the design and color of the destroyed building and the sign to images of the area, indicating that the footage contains a location matching the Adriatic restaurant on Moskovska Street on Google Maps. However, Reuters stated that it could not verify the date of the footage or any other details in the report from Lysychansk, which Russia annexed in July 2022 after months of fierce fighting. Only about a tenth of its pre-war population of 110,000 remains in the city, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine regained a large area of territory from Russian forces in 2022, but its counteroffensive in 2023 failed to make any significant impact on Russian fortifications. There is debate among Kyiv’s Western supporters about how Ukraine should continue the fight. Last month, Russian forces captured about 140 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory, according to the Belfer Center at Harvard Kennedy School.
Zelensky on the Front
The Ukrainian President’s office stated that President Zelensky visited Ukrainian forces on the southeastern front, awarded medals to its members, amid recurring speculation about the imminent dismissal of the popular army commander. Zelensky said in a statement after visiting the Zaporizhzhia region, “It is an honor for me to be here today, to support and honor the warriors. They are undertaking a difficult and vital task of expelling the enemy and defending Ukraine.” The presidential office clarified in the statement that Zelensky visited the front-line positions of the Ukrainian army near the village of Robotyne, which is almost on the front line, noting that Robotyne was liberated in late August during the counteroffensive against Russian forces. Zelensky’s visit to the battle lines comes at a time of uncertainty about the fate of the Ukrainian army commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Sources said on Friday that the Ukrainian government informed the White House that it plans to dismiss the country’s top military commander overseeing the war against Russian occupying forces. This alleged move to oust Zaluzhnyi, who had disagreed with Zelensky on a number of issues, follows a Ukrainian counteroffensive last year that failed to recapture large areas of territory under Russian control. Zaluzhnyi, known as the “Iron General,” is very popular. His dismissal could negatively affect the morale of Ukrainian forces fighting to capture more positions along the approximately 1,000-kilometer front line, facing massive Russian forces equipped with vast weapon stockpiles.
