Officials in Donetsk, a city controlled by Russia in Eastern Ukraine, announced that a fire broke out on the wooden roof of a university building, following an alleged Ukrainian shelling on Saturday.
Alexei Koleminzin, the Russia-appointed city mayor, stated on Telegram, “Due to the recent attack on Donetsk, a fire ignited in the primary building of the University of Economics and Commerce.”
The emergency minister appointed by Russia for the area, which Moscow refers to as the Donetsk People’s Republic, Alexei Kostropietskiy, mentioned, “We are deploying 12 water tanks, three ladders, and 100 firefighters.” He further commented that the “entire roof is ablaze.”
Kostropietskiy alleged that Ukrainian forces utilized cluster munitions in the bombardment leading to the fire. This claim could not be independently verified by Reuters. Both sides have reportedly used cluster munitions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine that commenced 17 months ago.
Ukraine, which received a supply of American cluster munitions last month, pledged to only employ them against Russian military gatherings.
No immediate comment has been released by Ukraine regarding the alleged shelling. Both parties deny targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Kostropietskiy confirmed that there were no individuals inside the building during the shelling and added, “The toughest challenge is that the roof is wooden, so the fire spread rapidly.”
The official Russian news agency cited Kostropietskiy and the emergency services, reporting that the fire covered an area of approximately 1,800 square meters before it was brought under control earlier on Sunday.
