At least eight people were killed and 42 were wounded when a Russian Multiple Launch Rocket System MLRS hit a crowd collecting water from a tanker, Serhii Hayday, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said on Monday.
In Lysychansk, when the civilian population was collecting water from a tanker, Russians aimed at a crowd of people with MLRS 'Hurricane, Hayday said. There were eight Lysychansk residents dead, 21 people were taken to the hospital, and five of them remained in Lysychansk after receiving medical treatment. Sixteen people were evacuated to hospitals in other regions. CNN was unable to independently verify Hayday's claims and the Russian government didn't immediately make a statement on the incident. Russia has denied targeting civilians despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
The alleged attack happens when Russian forces concentrate their efforts on trying to take Lysychansk, the last remaining city in the Luhansk oblast still under Ukrainian control.
Hayday said on Monday that they are destroying the city from different sides and attacking it with artillery, aircraft and constant shelling.
Hayday went on to explain that the humanitarian situation was dire, with many wounded and dead already. The head of the Luhansk region military administration said Ukrainian forces are putting up fierce resistance in the area, but he added that they are outmanned and outgunned.
Russians have many times more artillery and many times more shells for them. Hayday explained that there is an impression that there is an unlimited number of shells. They have creeping, scorched earth tactics and they destroy everything in their path. After several hours of shelling, assault attempts are being made, and they are beaten off. Several hours of shelling again attempt to storm — and so repeatedly. The city is quite complicated, and now a large number of our defenders are just holding the defense, but many times more Russians have been thrown into Lysychansk, he said.