(Reuters) – A woman was killed in Russian shelling of a hospital in the east Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk on Wednesday, the regional governor said.
Russia did not immediately comment on the accusation by the Luhansk region’s governor, Serhiy Gaidai. Moscow has denied targeting civilians or hospitals in its “special military operation” launched on Feb. 24.
The hospital was one of only two still working in the area more than two months since Russia invaded Ukraine, Gaidai said. The other is in nearby Lysychansk.
“The Russians knew that the hospital was not empty, there were patients (there) in different conditions (along) with doctors – and that did not stop them,” Gaidai wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Gaidai also posted video footage showing caved-in brick walls, broken hospital beds, medical appliances, and glass and rubble inside a building. A nurse was seen removing mats and blankets from what appeared to be a destroyed ward.
“The destruction of the building is significant. Several floors were damaged at once,” Gaidai wrote.
The footage and the veracity of Gaidai’s comments could not immediately be independently verified.
Russia has opened a new offensive in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in which local officials says civilians have been killed and many have been forced to flee.
(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Timothy Heritage and Angus MacSwan)
