Russia-Ukraine conflict: Rocket attack in Chortkiv injures 22 people

As the war moves into its fourth month, Russia has continued bombarding cities in Ukraine as it looks to capture more territory. Another Ukrainian city was hit by rockets over the weekend, injuring 22 people.

Reuters reports the city of Chortkiv was hit by a rocket attack from Russian forces. The rocket attack injured 22 people and partially destroyed a military facility, according to the governor of the Ternopil region, Volodymyr Trush, during an online briefing Sunday. Trush said four missiles struck Chortkiv, which is 75 kilometers south of Ternopil.

“All missiles were from the Black Sea. A military facility and civilian facilities were partially destroyed. There are no casualties, but we have injured – 22 people were hospitalized,” said Trush, who noted that among those who were injured was a 12-year-old child.

Trush also said four apartment buildings were also hit by the rocket attacks.

The heavy fighting remains in the eastern part of Ukraine, in the region occupied by pro-Russian separatists who charged and convicted two British nationals and one Moroccan national who were fighting alongside Ukraine, sentencing them to death.

The leader of the separatist region of Donetsk said over the weekend that there is no reason to pardon the two British nationals who were given a death sentence.

The court in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic Thursday last week found British nationals Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and Moroccan national Brahim Saadoun guilty of “mercenary activities” that sought to overthrow the so-called republic.

The UK responded, saying that Aslin and Pinner are regular soldiers and are exempt under the conditions of the Geneva convention. The separatists said they have a month to appeal their cases.

“I don’t see any grounds, prerequisites, for me to come out with such a decision on a pardon,” said Denis Pushilin, who is the leader of the separatist republic, according to Russian news outlets.

Aslin’s family said he and Pinner “are not and never were mercenaries” in a statement, explaining that they were staying in Ukraine when the war began “and as a member of the Ukrainian armed forces, they should be treated with respect just like any other prisoners of war.”