A Russian bombardment, launched on Sunday July 9, killed four people during a distribution of humanitarian aid in central Ukraine, in Orikhiv, announced on Monday Yuri Malashko, the regional governor. According to him, the strike, which targeted a college, can easily be described as a “war crime”. According to the first elements, the victims are mainly women in their forties.
“They hit a humanitarian aid distribution center in a residential area…Four people died on the spot: women aged 43, 45 and 47, and a 47-year-old man,” the governor said on social networks.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general said in a statement that the strike took place around 1:20 p.m. (10:20 GMT) on Sunday and also injured 13 people. According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, she targeted a college “at a time when civilians were receiving humanitarian aid.”
“An aerial bomb completely destroyed the building,” the ministry said on Telegram, noting that nearby residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were also damaged. Footage of the damage has been released showing a totally destroyed two-story brick building surrounded by a host of broken beams and debris.
The city of Orikhiv had around 14,000 inhabitants before the war, it is located in the region of Zaporizhia, one of the four Ukrainian territories which Russia claimed for annexation in 2022, although its army does not fully control them. .
The city is close to the front line, where Ukrainian forces have been trying since early June to retake heavily fortified positions from Russian forces.