Russia: Ukrainian Strike on Bakery Kills at Least 28

Facts

• Moscow announced on Sunday that alleged Ukrainian shelling on a crowded bakery in the Russia-occupied city of Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine on Saturday had killed at least 28 people.¹
• According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kyiv struck the building using the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.²
• In a statement on Telegram, Luhansk People's Republic's Leonid Pasechnik said that emergency services had rescued 10 people from under the wreckage. It added that those deceased included a child.³
• Though Ukraine hasn't commented on the attack in Lysychansk — which fell to Russian forces in July 2022 — Sunday has been declared a day of mourning in the region.⁴
• Last month, the Kremlin blamed the death of at least 25 people, resulting from the shelling of a market and shopping center in partially occupied Donetsk, on Kyiv.⁵
• Meanwhile, an alleged Russian artillery strike on Donetsk's Toretsk on Sunday reportedly killed a Ukrainian civilian, injured two others, and damaged several buildings.⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Al Jazeera, ³Associated Press, ⁴CNN, ⁵Bloomberg and ⁶Ukrainska Pravda.

Narratives

• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by RT International. Kyiv has committed a war crime by deliberately targeting civilians on a busy weekend to maximize casualties. The West must stop supplying Ukraine with deadly weapons, as they are clearly being used for unjustified attacks. Saturday's brutal strike was a desperate act of terrorism by Ukraine after its much-hyped counter-offensive failed to make any significant dent in fortified Russian lines.
• Pro-Ukraine narrative, as provided by TheHill. Ukraine is working hard to break through Russia's defenses on the battlefield, including through repeated attacks and by weakening its Black Sea Fleet. It's feasible Moscow could be faking attacks on civilians in occupied territories so as to justify escalating its assault, seizing the symbols of Ukrainian resistance, and bolstering an anti-Kyiv narrative. The West should do more to help Ukrainian forces with the fight for sovereignty and peace that lies ahead.