Areas of Luhansk occupied by Russia suffer bombings

Social media accounts and videos reported explosions in the city of luhanskin the east of Ukraineoccupied by Russian forces and an important center for calls “special military operations” from Moscow. The self-proclaimed leader of the Luhansk People’s Republic, Leonid Pasetchnikcalled the attack “a new attempt by the terrorist regime in Kiev to intimidate civilians” and blamed Ukraine. “Firefighters and all emergency services are on site. Circumstances of the incident and information about the victims are being specified,” he said.

_{The self-proclaimed leader of the Luhansk People’s Republic, Leonid Pashchnik, called the attack a “a new attempt by the terrorist regime in Kiev to intimidate civilians”. Photo: Playback/CNN}

Pasechnik said that the district of Leninsky city ​​was bombed on Republic Day, a national holiday in the segregated region. The city has been virtually abandoned by Ukrainian forces since the Russian invasion, as it is out of range of Russian missile systems and long-range missiles such as the Himar. A Telegram account said there were two explosions and that smoke was visible over the city. Videos posted online show large clouds of black smoke.

The town is so far from Ukrainian military positions that the attack has sparked speculation among analysts that Ukraine may have deployed new long-range missiles.“For the first time, the Ukrainian military used missiles with a range of 150 kilometers”said a former Luhansk city official, after at least two explosions in the city on Friday, Russian news agency TASS reported.

Quoting retired Lieutenant Colonel Andrei Marochko of the Luhansk People’s Republic, TASS said there was no official confirmation of the information. Britain announced this week that its Storm Shadow cruise missile has been transferred to Ukraine. They are usually dropped from thin air. Ukraine has not commented on the attack on Russian forces in Luhansk. Russian-sponsored officials said initial information indicated there were no civilian casualties and were investigating the type of weapons used in the attack.

Feature Photo: Russian-occupied areas of Luhansk are bombed. Playback/Ukrainska Pravda