By Andriy Prokopenko
On June 17, the Russian occupiers fired rockets at Mykolaiv again. An airstrike on a residential quarter took the lives of two people, and another 20 residents were injured. Information on the number of victims is not final.
The correspondent of SVIDOK.info reported this.
The rocket attack severely damaged several apartment buildings: explosions destroyed balconies, tore out window frames and doors, and in some apartments, destroyed even interior walls. In many houses, the blast wave damaged the front and entrance doors so much that they needed unblocking.
“We heard the first explosion when we were at work. After we heard the second explosion, we called our child – but he did not pick up the phone. The front door was blocked when we arrived home, concave from the blast wave. When we kicked the door in, nothing was left intact in the apartment – everything was destroyed. The dog was crushed, the cat. And the most important thing is that our child was injured – shell fragments cut his legs,” says a resident.
According to the press officer of the Mykolaiv Defense Forces, Dmytro Pletenchuk, the missile attack, according to preliminary data, was carried out from the air, probably from airplanes. An industrial facility and a residential area came under fire.
“This morning, Russian occupiers attacked the city of Mykolaiv once again. According to preliminary data, the attack was carried out from the air, most likely from airplanes. It is now known that the first rocket struck the city’s industrial infrastructure, and the second strike hit a residential area. People are on the street, many apartments were damaged, several buildings came under the blast wave, and there are no doors or windows left in them,” the press officer commented.
Immediately after the explosions, communal services, medical aid teams, emergency services, and law enforcement arrived at the scene. After the victims were unblocked and provided with medical assistance, utility workers and rescuers proceeded to eliminate the consequences of the missile strike. Mykolaiv City Mayor Oleksandr Syenkevych, his deputies Vitaliy Lukov, Serhiy Koreniev, and Anatoliy Petrov, representatives of various departments, deputy head of regional state administration Valentyn Gaydarzhy, head of the regional council Hanna Zamazieyeva were also present at the scene.
“In the morning, city council services arrived at the site immediately after the explosion. Our utility services are now helping people clear debris. The police and the prosecutor’s office collected evidence. As you can see, there are only people’s homes here; it’s a suburb. Soon, we want to purchase entrance doors that suffered irreparable damage. Now we will deal with this issue because the problem is that we need to get the necessary quantity of these doors,” commented Mayor Oleksandr Syenkevych.
Most local residents hesitate to leave their homes unattended, so with despair in their eyes, they try to sort through the debris and look for something to cover the holes left from the blasted windows. The local authorities have joined them and are working on the issue of purchasing doors and plywood sheets. People are also encouraged to move to safe places where they will be provided with accommodation, food, and other necessities.
“We have discussed that purchasing doors is the priority. The administration and the city cannot pay for this expense from the city budget. We have funds in our accounts designated for humanitarian assistance; we want to buy 100 doors. And we will also allocate funds to purchase the necessary materials to solve problems with windows. I offered to relocate people. Most residents don’t want to leave, but if we solve the doors and windows issue, they will consider it. In many houses, interior walls were completely knocked out. It’s dangerous for them to stay in these apartments,” says the head of the regional council, Hanna Zamazieyeva.
Since February 24, Mykolaiv has been constantly under fire from cannon and rocket artillery and is periodically being hit by shells. One of the most tragic cases happened on March 29, when a Russian rocket hit the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration and Regional Council building. Then 36 people died under the rubble and debris.