Ukraine’s National Guard Denies Involvement in Donetsk School Shelling

KYIV, November 6 (RIA Novosti) – The National Guard of Ukraine denied in an official statement on Thursday the involvement of its troops in the shelling of a school in Donetsk, which killed two children.

“The National Guard has no relation to the events of the school shelling in Donetsk,” the statement said.

Two students were killed and four sustained injuries of varying severity on Wednesday as a projectile hit a sports school in Donetsk. Two of the students remain in intensive care. A man living near the school was also hospitalized with severe injuries.

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, Ukrainian forces carried out shelling of the school on the command of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense and the National Guard. Russian prosecutors have opened a criminal case over the incident.

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council has also launched a criminal case, blaming the Donetsk militia for carrying out the attack.

The crisis in Ukraine’s eastern regions escalated when Kyiv authorities launched a military operation against Donbas independence supporters in mid-April.

The conflicting sides reached a ceasefire agreement at a September 5 meeting of the trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine in Minsk. A memorandum specifying the implementation of the ceasefire was adopted at another Contact Group meeting on September 19.

Both sides have subsequently accused each other of violating the truce. OSCE’s special monitoring mission in the conflict-torn region has also reported instances of shelling after the ceasefire.