Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of bombing on Easter night April 15-16. The Russian side, in particular, reported an attack on a church in Donetsk, while the Ukrainian side reported bombing a church in the Zaporizhzhia region. Moreover, on Easter night, Moscow handed over more than 100 prisoners of war to Kiev.
Bombing of Donetsk during worship
By data Joint Center for Control and Coordination of War Crimes Issues of Ukraine (JCCC DPR), from 12:00 p.m. to 9:35 a.m., the Armed Forces of Ukraine fired nearly 50 shells in Donetsk.
Page “Donbass Orthodox” in VKontakte
How writing RIA Novosti, at night, one of the rockets fell near the Cathedral of the Transfiguration in one of the central squares of the city, where the Easter service was held. As a result, a woman who was in a car near the temple died, according to the agency. An eyewitness to the shooting estimate The Telegram channel “Donbass Decides” clarified that the deceased woman was pregnant. Visitors to the cathedral were evacuated.
Telegram channel “Typical Donetsk”
Rockets also hit a bus station and a covered market near the temple, notes RIA Novosti. Moreover, by words Acting head of the DPR Denis Pushilin, a shell fell on a kindergarten, a fire broke out there. In addition to the one who died, six people were injured, he said. Among the victims – the subdeacon of the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, as well as visitors returning from the temple, according to eyewitnesses.
Several regions of Ukraine were under fire, a temple was destroyed
The Ukrainian authorities, in turn, reported the bombardment of several regions of the country, which took place on Easter night. The governor of the Nikolaev region, Vitaly Kim, wrote in his telegraph channel that the settlement of the Gorokhovskaya community, as well as the Snigirevskaya community, had come under fire. According to Kim, two teenagers born in 2005 died in one of the settlements, and residential buildings, an educational institution and a private business were also damaged.
Telegram channel “Yury Malashko / Zaporizhka Regional Administration”
The Zaporizhzhia region also came under fire, as a result, the Kamyshevakh temple was damaged, but there were no services there at that time, the head of the regional military administration said (OVA), Yuri Malashko. Judging by the photo of the temple published by Malashko, only the dome and the icon survived in the building.
In addition, the Kherson region was shelled, which killed two people, as well as the Kharkiv region, there were no deaths or injuries, local OVA heads Alexei Prokudin and Oleg Sinegubov said .
Prisoner exchange
On Easter night, Ukraine also sent home 130 prisoners of war, Andrii Yermak, head of the president’s office, said on his Telegram channel. In particular, among them are military, border guards and national guards, Yermak said.
Telegram channel of Andrey Ermak
How reported in the telegraph channel “Prigozhin’s Cap”, the head of the PMC “Wagner” Yevgeny Prigozhin ordered to transfer a group of prisoners of war to Kiev. However, the telegram channel does not specify which group of POWs we are talking about.
It is unclear whether the exchange was one-sided. The Russian Defense Ministry has yet to comment on the exchange.
Putin and Zelenskyy congratulated their citizens on Easter
In this context, the heads of the conflicting states, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensyy, congratulated their citizens on the occasion of Easter. Putin also attended an Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. Zelenskyy, in turn, published a recorded appeal to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, a temple, for the control of which there is now a confrontation between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) and the Ministry of Culture (previously the authorities Ukrainian women accused the UOC priests of supporting Russia).
Press Service of the President of Ukraine
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