A shocking Russian missile attack on a village market in eastern Ukraine this morning killed two women and wounded several others, including a 10-year-old girl.
Harrowing footage from the strike scene in Shevchenkove, 80 km south-east of the regional capital Kharkiv, showed a rubble-strewn square as rescue workers rushed through the ruins in search of survivors.
A bloodied woman lay in the rubble, waiting for help. Rescuers had placed a dirt-covered pillow under her head as they attended to more serious cases.
Moments later, other rescuers were seen moving what appeared to be a corpse before an injured child was carried out of the rubble, his face smeared with red.
In the town of Shevchenkove, a building burns in a market area hit by Russian missiles during the Russian attack on Ukraine
Rescuers dig through the rubble after the attack
A photo posted online by Ukraine’s presidential office showed rescuers trying to extricate a woman from the dirt and debris after the rocket attack
In this picture released on January 9, 2023, an injured child is carried after a Russian missile attack on a local market in the village of Shevchenkove in the Kharkiv region amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine
A photo posted online by Ukraine’s presidential office showed rescuers trying to pull a woman in a thick winter coat from the rubble. Her head and arms stuck out from under the rubble, but it was not clear if she was still alive.
Other footage shared by Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne on the Telegram messaging app showed burning debris and a large crater in the center of Shevchenkove.
“The Russian army carried out another act of terrorism against the civilian population, in which a child was injured and two women were killed,” the regional prosecutor’s office said.
Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, criticized Russia for the attack, writing on Telegram: “Ordinary terrorists”.
Oleh Synehubov, governor of Kharkiv region, wrote on Telegram: “According to confirmed information, unfortunately, a 60-year-old woman died.
“All other victims were hospitalized. Doctors help them. Rescuers continue to clear the debris.”
Suspilne quoted a local official as saying the attack destroyed at least three pavilions and damaged a mall, but that Monday is not a market day.
The village succumbed to Russian occupation days after Vladimir Putin ordered his tanks across the border on February 24, 2022, but was liberated by Ukrainian forces in September.
Rescuers search the rubble after an attack on a local market in the village of Shevchenkove, Kharkiv region
A firefighter works in the town of Shevchenkove at a market hit by Russian missiles amid the Russian attack on Ukraine
Ukrainian military personnel pose for a photo in the recently liberated Shevchenkove settlement amid the Russian attack on Ukraine in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released September 10, 2022
Just hours after the brutal attack on Ukrainian civilians, the Kremlin issued an ominous statement on Monday, claiming that new arms shipments from the West to Kyiv would only “deepen the suffering of the Ukrainian people” and would not change the course of the conflict.
“This supply will not change anything,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a daily briefing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose military launched a series of successful counterattacks and recaptured sizable tracts of land from the occupiers in the months leading up to the New Year, has asked western allies for heavier weapons and air defenses to tip the balance of the 10-month conflict in his favour.
The US, UK and EU have been reluctant to supply Ukraine with their most advanced heavy weapons, but France, Germany and the US agreed last week to send several of their respective infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) – the AMX-10, the Marder and the Bradley.
These vehicles are not considered tanks due to their lack of armor and armament, but the machines will undoubtedly provide the Ukrainian infantry with improved firepower and maneuverability that they previously lacked.
The US Bradley – which served with distinction in the 1991 Gulf War – is widely regarded as the most advanced IFV, with a 25mm cannon fired from a chain gun and a side pod that allows it to effectively obliterate Russian main battle tanks.
America’s delivery of 50 Bradleys is part of a nearly $3 billion military aid package announced by President Joe Biden last week.
The US has pledged to send around 50 Bradley tanks to Ukraine. The vehicles were very effective during the 1991 Gulf War
The German marten has been described as “respectable but old”, with around 40 promised to Ukraine
The French-supplied AMX-10 infantry fighting vehicle is very fast and has been described as ideal for a “reconnaissance squadron or rapid reaction force”.
Since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has successfully lobbied Western allies for technology that outperforms the invaders
France has not confirmed the number of AMX-10s it will send, while German newspaper Der Spiegel reported that around 40 Marders – the equivalent of a battalion – are likely to be sent.
Germany also announced it would provide Ukraine with the coveted Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) defense system, which should prove instrumental in repelling Russian missile and air strikes.
Ukraine’s military chief Valery Zaluzhny says he needs 300 tanks, 600 to 700 infantry fighting vehicles and 500 howitzers to push Russia back to his lines before the invasion.
Michael Clarke, Professor of Defense Studies at Kings College London, wrote for the Guardian: “Kyiv still has a long way to go before it will have enough equipment and troops to mount the kind of offensive that Russian forces will muster from most or will expel everyone. his territory.
“It needs a lot more of what it already has – and then even more overtly offensive weapon systems, including heavier armored forces, more attack aircraft, and more drones and missiles.”