Russian shelling leads to massive fire at factory in Kramatorsk as war enters day 51

As the Russian war against Kyiv escalated to day 51, Ukrainian firefighters worked to douse a massive fire in a factory in the Kramatorsk region. The factory was struck by Russian artillery shelling in the wee hours of Thursday. The blast from the explosion damaged at least one building on the factory premises. A video footage accessed by Republic TV shows thick black smoke covering the interiors of the factory. There were no immediate reports of casualties or injuries.

The Russian strike comes days after Moscow was announced to restrategise its war in Ukraine after failing to topple the pro-Western Ukrainian government. In what the Kremlin calls “phase two” of the invasion, Russia has pulled back troops from key Ukrainian cities like Kyiv and Chernihiv and concentrated on “liberation” of the pro-Russian separatist-held regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, collectively known as Donbass. The main aim of this is to expand the territories administered by anti-Kyiv rebels. The move is expected to lead to an imminent protracted conflict, according to experts cited by BBC.

Russian attack in Kramatorsk 

The reinvigorated onslaught in Kramatorsk city of Donetsk comes days after a missile hit a railway station last Friday, killing at least 57, including five children, and injuring 100. Calling it a “Russian war crime,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed that the incident must be added as evidence against Russia at any future tribunals over the invasion. “A firm, global response … Like the massacre in Bucha, like many other Russian war crimes, the missile strike on Kramatorsk must be one of the charges at the tribunal, which is bound to happen,” Zelenskyy said. The US also blamed Russia for what was believed to be a short-range Tochka-U ballistic missile attack on the railway station. However, Russia denied involvement in the attack on the crowded station, which reportedly sheltered 4,000 people waiting to be evacuated.

Russia, in turn, accused Ukraine of carrying out the Tochka-U ballistic missile attack. Some initial reports by the Russian media outlets also claimed that the strike hit a military transport target in Kramatorsk. Later, a mock-up video of the missile attack branded under BBC also surfaced on social media, which gave a false impression that Ukrainian authorities claimed responsibility for the Friday attack. The video was taken down shortly after.

(Image: AP)