Rocket attack by rebels kills 30 in Ukraine
Donetsk: At least 30 people were killed yesterday when rockets hit a market in a vital Ukrainian port linking rebel territory with Russian-occupied Crimea after the pro-Moscow insurgents vowed to grab more land.
Ukraine’s interior ministry said 76 people were also wounded in Mariupol by Grad rockets that smashed into a packed residential district, which faces roads that have been attacked by separatist militias in recent days.
The local mayor’s office added that several buildings went up in flames and cars were torched in the assaults.
‘Right now, there are problems with the cellphone network, so it is impossible to call relatives who live in that part of town,’ Mariupol resident Eduard said.
Airport
‘Obviously, everyone in the city is very scared. The rebels have already seized the airport. And now they are starting to destroy Mariupol itself.’
Photographs of the attack published on local news sites showed a towering cloud of grey smoke billowing over homes and a row of high-rise apartment buildings.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk convened an emergency security meeting designed to prepare a response to the attack on Mariupol.
A rebel assault on the port in August last year saw Kyiv repel the attack at a heavy cost that prompted Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to agree to a September 5 ceasefire.