Yesterday, on May 18, at least 17 civilians in Donetsk and Luhansk were killed and 10 were injured in Russian missile strikes and artillery shelling. Among the dead – two families with minor children.
This was reported by the press service of the Joint Forces.
During the previous day, Russian troops have been shelling 46 settlements in eastern Ukraine.
The occupants destroyed and damaged 51 houses, two schools, a construction lyceum, a kindergarten, a community center, a shop, a garment factory, a children’s stadium, two power substations, other buildings and infrastructure.
Search and rescue operations are underway at the sites of the destruction of houses, information on the dead and injured is being clarified.
Over the previous day, rescuers evacuated 674 people from the areas of hostilities in the Donbas.
Luhansk region
Severodonetsk suffered the most damage, as well as the settlements of the Popasna community. In particular, in the latter, the Russians actively used military aviation.
Severodonetsk has been shelled since the morning. In some places, due to heavy shelling, rescuers were unable to go to the scene for two hours. At least eight houses were damaged, some of them on fire – individual apartments and entire entrances. On May 18, four people were killed and three others were injured in the city. All – in the morning and in the old parts of the city.
In particular, the bodies of two women without signs of life were found after an inspection of the apartment where the enemy shell hit in the morning. A man was killed near one of the houses, a woman and a man came under Russian fire on the same street. The first died on the spot, a man with shrapnel was hospitalized.
Two more citizens of Severodonetsk were injured by shrapnel wounds and contusions. A woman’s hand was torn off in Lysychansk.
It also became known about three people who died earlier – residents of Bilohorivka and Popasna.
During May 18, the Russians used aircraft to destroy civilian objects in the areas of the settlements of Loskutivka, Katerynivka and Orikhove. They carried out assaults in Ustynivka and Zolote-4 areas, but were unsuccessful. Settlements have numerous destructions. Damage to houses was also recorded in Vrubivka, Nyrkove and Komyshuvaha.
As previously reported, in Lysychansk yesterday afternoon, the Russians cut off a large power substation. The area was left without electricity.
During the russian invasion, 288 civilians were killed in Luhansk region.
Donetsk region
According to Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, on May 18, the Russians killed 10 civilians in the Donetsk region: 7 in Lyman and 3 in Bakhmut. Among the dead were 2 children: 1 in Lyman and 1 Bakhmut.
Seven more people were injured.
It is currently impossible to determine the exact number of victims in Mariupol and Volnovakha.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 392 civilians have been killed and 1,103 wounded in shelling and bombing in the Donetsk region.
Russians are most active in the south and in the center of the region: from Velyka Novosilka to Ocheretyne.
In Avdiivka, as a result of a night shelling with phosphorus munitions, school №1 burned down, and three houses were damaged with no casualties. There were two attempts to attack – both repulsed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In the Marinka community, the Russians launched four airstrikes on Novomykhaylivka, where about 50 civilians are still remaining.
Significant damage was inflicted on Kostiantynivka: the building of the former school №7 was destroyed, the Center for Children and Youth Creativity and at least 28 residential buildings were damaged. Fortunately, no casualties.
In the evening, the Russians fired on Ocheretine and Novobakhmutivka – one house was destroyed and several others were damaged.
Velyka Novosilka and two other villages in the community came under fire. There are no reports of casualties or damage.
Despite all these attacks, the authorities continue to deliver humanitarian aid and evacuate civilians to safety.
