WARCRIME: Ukrainian Army Shoots Up Civilian Bus in Neutral Zone in the Donbass
A passenger bus in Donbas' neutral zone was attacked by the Ukrainian military One person was killed and one injured.
Andrey Rudenko with the details.
- Greetings, Andrey. Is it clear why they started shooting?
- Greetings, Vera. The attack was chaotic. There was no reason for the Ukrainian soldiers to open fire. The attack started at 13:20 Moscow Time. The soldiers were using small arms. At that time, a passenger bus was passing their checkpoint. It was traveling from Ukraine to the DNR. Several bullets hit the bus killing one person and heavily injuring another. Let's listen to a survivor of the attack who's currently receiving medical help in a clinic in the DNR.
Alexey Dubov, injured in attack on checkpoint Elenovka: "We passed the checkpoint between Ukraine and the DNR. The busses were full of people. Our bus was full so I had to stand in the aisle. It was quiet, nobody was shooting or anything. And then there was a flash and a hit, I thought somebody punched me."
Daniil Beznosov, head of DNR press service: "The attack was precise, lasted six minutes and employed PK machine guns. It was carried out from the Ukrainian village of Slavnoye".
The OSCE officers arrived at the scene and established the crime as a fact. The DNR police also started its investigation. The leader of the DNR Alexander Zakharchenko also arrived at the scene. He believes this crime is linked to the new Donbas Reintegration Law. Let's listen to his interview.
Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of DNR: "The new law allowed them to bend the Constitution. It allowed them to concentrate authority in a single pair of hands and prepare for a full-scale engagement faster. Is there a threat to the people? The existence of Ukraine is already a threat".
The situation in the DNR is still acute. During the last 24 hours, the ceasefire was violated 12 times. Currently, we're receiving information that there are clashes along the borderline at Yesenovatsky checkpoint and Donetsk airfield.
- Thank you, Andrey. Our correspondent Andrey Rudenko was live from Donbas.