Zelenskyy says that Russia attacking “own civilians” in Kursk – DW – 02/01/2025

Ukraine accused Russia on Saturday of bombing a boarding school housing civilians in the Russian city in Southzha, currently occupied by Ukraine. At the same time, Russian officials said kyiv was behind the air strike that they described as a “crime”.

“Russian aviation has struck a boarding school in the city of Sudzha, in the Kursk region, with a guided air bomb,” said the general staff of the Ukrainian army on Telegram. “The strike was made on purpose.”

Ukrainian officials said that at least four people died.

Kyiv deployed its forces through the Russian border in the Kursk region last August, seizing dozens of villages and small towns, including the Sudzha regional center. The city housed some 6,000 people before the fighting.

“At the time of the attack, dozens of local residents were inside the building preparing to evacuate. Everything that is possible to save the survivors.”

Russia says that missiles from Ukraine

In an online article, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of hitting its “own civilians” in Sudzha. He shared a video that showed a strongly damaged building, as well as a injured man lying on the ground.

“This is how Russia is doing war,” he said.

“They destroyed the building even if dozens of civilians were there,” said Zelenskyy. “Russian bombs destroy Ukrainian houses in the same way. And even against their own civilians, the Russian army uses similar tactics.”

However, Russian officials said its air defenses noted that the projectile had come from Ukrainian territory. They also said that there was not yet reliable information about the number of deaths.

“In all cases, the dismissal of missiles in a boarding school, where people could be, is a crime,” said the vice-governor of the Kursk region, Alexander Khinshtein, on Telegram.

JSI / DJ (AFP, Interfax)