Russian forces bombed a humanitarian aid point in Orikhiv on Sunday afternoon, the Reuters news agency reported.
The attack came while distribution of humanitarian aid was taking place, according to Britain’s The Guardian newspaper.
Yurii Malashko, who heads Zaporizhzhia’s regional military administration, said in a statement on the Telegram social messaging app: “Rashists committed a war crime in the frontline city of Orikhiv, having dropped a guided bomb while humanitarian aid was being delivered in a residential area. Four people were killed at the scene: three women, aged 43, 45 and 47, and a man,” 47,” as quoted by Ukraine’s state news agency Ukrinform.
A further eleven civilians were taken to hospital with wounds of various severity, according to officials.
The General Prosecutor's office said it had opened a criminal case into war crimes after the attack on the city of Orikhiv, the Reuters news agency reported.
Regional police said: “Russians launched an aimed air strike at a time when local residents came to the school to receive humanitarian aid: food and basic necessities. Over 15 people, who were inside and nearby outside, ended up trapped under the rubble of the destroyed institution. Additionally, residential buildings and other civil infrastructure objects situated close to the impact location were damaged.”
The rescue operation continued into the later hours of Monday morning, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Throughout Sunday, Russian troops carried out 36 aimed attacks on 10 settlements in the Zaporizhzhia province, Ukrinform reported.
Sunday’s Russian bomb attack came amid Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive aiming to liberate Russian-occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia, Reuters reported.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Monday is day 502 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: PAP, Ukrinform, Reuters, The Guardian