The city of Sloviansk, the next target of Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, is undergoing a “
massive
” bombardment, its mayor announced on Tuesday July 5, calling on residents to take shelter.
“
Sloviansk!
Massive bombardment of the city.
The center, the north.
Everyone stays safe
, ”wrote on Facebook Vadim Liakh, the mayor of this city of some 100,000 inhabitants before the war.
The Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly called on civilians remaining in Sloviansk to leave the region, while the front line is now a few kilometers after the capture of the cities of Sieverodonetsk and Lyssychansk by the Russian army.
Read alsoIn Ukraine, the agony of the Zolotchiv hospital, constantly bombarded: the story of our special correspondent
At least six people have been killed and 19 others have been injured since Sunday in gunfire in Sloviansk, which sparked fires.
Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, a regional administrative center still under Ukrainian control, are the next targets of Russian forces, which are continuing their offensive aimed at taking control of the Donbass region in the east.
In 2014, Sloviansk had been for a few months under the control of pro-Russian separatists fighting alongside forces from Moscow during their conflict with forces from kyiv.