At Least 5 Dead in Ukrainian Shelling of Occupied City – Russia

Russia on Saturday said Ukrainian shelling of the occupied eastern city of Lysychansk killed at least five people, saying Kyiv targeted a building housing a bakery and that more people may be under the rubble.

Lysychansk, in the Luhansk region, fell to Russian forces after a brutal battle at the start of Moscow's offensive in 2022.

Occupation forces said Ukraine had struck a building housing a popular bakery.

"The bodies of five victims were retrieved," the Russian Emergency Ministry said on Telegram, adding that six people had been taken out of the rubble alive.

"Rescue work is continuing," it said.

Earlier, the Moscow-installed governor of the Luhansk region, Leonid Pasechnik, said "dozens" could be trapped underneath the building.

Russian state news agencies quoted the local Moscow-installed police as saying that "up to 40 people" could be under the rubble.

The RIA Novosti news agency published a video of a heavily destroyed building, with emergency workers pulling out an entirely crushed car.

Pasechnik said the "Ukrainian army shelled a bakery" that he said is known to have fresh bread on weekends.

He said local police and emergency services were at the scene and trying to "rescue victims with special equipment."

Moscow's offensive in Ukraine has dragged on for nearly two years.