Dozens of people are feared dead after a bomb hit a school in east Ukraine, where government forces are battling Russian troops and separatists.
Luhansk region’s governor, Serhiy Haidai, confirmed two deaths, saying 60 people were feared dead under the rubble of the school in Bilohorivka.
About 90 people had been sheltering in the building and 30 were rescued, seven of them wounded, he added.
Mr Haidai said a Russian plane had dropped the bomb on Saturday. His accusation could not be verified independently and there was no immediate response from Russia.
Luhansk has seen fierce combat as Russian troops and separatist fighters seek to surround government forces, just over two months since the start of the Russian invasion.
Much of Luhansk, which along with Donetsk forms part of the Donbas region, has been under the control of the separatists for the past eight years.
Bilohorivka is close to the government-held city of Severodonetsk, where heavy fighting was reported in the suburbs on Saturday. One Ukrainian newspaper, Ukrayinska Pravda, says the village became a “hot spot” during fighting last week.
The blast brought down the building which caught fire and it took firefighters three hours to extinguish the blaze, according to the governor, writing on Telegram.
He said almost the entire village had been sheltering in the basement of the school.
The final death toll would only be known when the rubble had been cleared, the governor said.
US First lady Jill Biden makes surprise visit to Ukraine
United States of America (US) First lady Dr. Jill Biden made a surprise trip to Ukraine yesterday, meeting with the first lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska and visiting with Ukrainian children who have been displaced by the ongoing war with Russia.
Biden, who embarked on her trip to Eastern Europe on Thursday, crossed the border from Slovakia into southwestern Ukraine on Sunday afternoon for the unannounced visit to a public school in Uzhhorod that was converted into a temporary shelter, housing 163 Ukrainians, including 47 children. It was a rare visit by a U.S. first lady into a war zone.
The first lady was greeted by Zelenska, who has not been seen in public since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, according to a U.S. official. The official said the two women have exchanged correspondence over the last few weeks.
