Russia-Ukraine Conflict: At Least 21 Dead After Russian Shelling Of East Ukraine Town

New Delhi: At least 21 people were killed in shelling in the eastern Ukrainian town, local officials said on Wednesday as quoted by news agency AFP.

Artillery fire on Thursday hit a school and a social community in the town of Merefa outside the city of Kharkiv, local prosecutors said in a post on Facebook. Of the injured, 10 people are in serious condition.

Russia has been raining shells and missiles on Ukraine for the last 22 days. So far, 103 Ukrainian children have been killed and more than 100 injured in the Russian attack. Hundreds of innocent civilians have also lost their lives in the attacks.

Russian forces, on the other hand, are wreaking havoc from the ground to the skies. Explosions and shelling continue in Ukrainian cities. Russia’s airstrikes and shelling in Chernihiv on Wednesday killed 53 civilians.

This information was given by the Governor of Chernihiv Oblast, Vyacheslav Chaus. Russian forces on Wednesday demolished a theater in Mariupol, where hundreds of people had taken refuge. However, both sides have shown optimism about negotiating efforts to end the war.

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Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the airstrikes had destroyed the center of a magnificent building where hundreds of civilians had been living since their homes were destroyed in the fighting. Many were buried in the rubble. However, it is not yet known how many people have been killed.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that Russian shelling had damaged several houses in Podil, a neighborhood in the city. The location is north of the city center and two and a half kilometers from the so-called government building where the President house, offices and other necessary offices are located.

Meanwhile, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry Tweet on Thursday, Ukraine stated that it had killed 14,000 Russian soldiers. While 86 aircraft, 108 helicopters and 444 tanks have been destroyed.

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Residents of Kyiv are locked in their homes amid Russian shelling and the city is under curfew until Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol has been released after being held hostage by Russian forces for five days.