Russia has aimed missile strikes on the Kramatorsk region in eastern Ukraine for three consecutive nights. Ukraine has urged citizens to take air alerts seriously before Victory Day on Monday. ‘s journalist Antti Kuronen visited the devastated villages.
7.5. 18: 04 • Updated 7.5. 18:04
KRAMATORSK Russia hit three targets near Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass last night.
I woke up to explosions right after four in the morning. Our hotel is only a couple of miles from the nearest hits.
There were at least four explosions in twenty minutes. They were probably Russian long-range missiles.
Today we went to see the devastation. One of the missiles hit the village of Malotaranivka.
The crater created by the explosion tells of the power of the missile.
As a miracle trade, none of the villagers perished, but the pressure of the explosion destroyed many houses.
“God saved me”
About fifty meters from the crater Ljubov the house is in turmoil.
Lyubov is shocked when he goes through the events of the night.
– God saved me! In the middle of the night I got out of bed and went to the bathroom. It saved me.
Lyubov says he was standing in the doorway when the explosion occurred.
– That’s why the shards of glass and everything else flew past me. It was a miracle.
Lyubov shouted at her husband on a dark night and relieved to hear the answer.
The sister was also alive. She is immobile and lying in bed.
– How are we doing now? Where are we staying? God help us.
Lyubov’s daughter arrives. He, too, has lost his home, in a Russian attack on the city center of Kramatorsk just days earlier.
– If I had been in bed, I would be covered in shards of glass. The plaster also dropped a kilo from the roof. God saved me today, Lubov says.
Russia destroyed a car repair shop
Another Russian missile hit the edge of the small town of Druzhivka five kilometers south of Malatoranivka.
The missile completely destroyed the garages of the car repair shop and the inhabitants of the small town.
In Ukraine, co-owned garages are popular.
The owner of the car repair shop says the place was brand new. There are a couple of destroyed, brand new European cars in the yard.
The owner shows a pile of rubbish from which the tire separates.
– This was a great American Jeep car.
Tough battles in the Donbass
Russia has increased its missile strikes in Kramatorsk in recent days. A couple of nights ago, two missiles hit the center of Kramatorsk. A small shopping center and residential buildings were destroyed.
The next night, the Russian attacks hit an industrial plant and last night outside Kramatorsk and Konstantinovka. There, at least one school building was destroyed.
The fighting in the Donbass region has been very intense in recent days. Russia is trying to break through the lines of Ukraine and use mainly artillery and rocket launchers.
Both soldiers and civilians are killed and wounded in Russian fire.