Zelenskyy says Russia attacking ‘own civilians’ in Kursk – DW – 02/01/2025

Ukraine accused Russia on Saturday of bombing a boarding school sheltering civilians in the Russian town of Sudzha, which is currently occupied by Ukraine. At the same time, Russian officials said Kyiv was behind the air strike, which they described as a “crime.”

“Russian aviation struck a boarding school in the town of Sudzha, Kursk region, with a guided aerial bomb,” the Ukrainian army’s general staff said on Telegram. “The strike was carried out on purpose.”

Ukrainian officials said at least four people were dead.

Kyiv deployed its forces across the Russian border into the Kursk region last August, seizing dozens of villages and small towns, including the regional hub of Sudzha. The town was home to 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 possible is being done to rescue the survivors.”

Russia says missiles fired from inside Ukraine

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

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

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

However, Russian officials said its air defenses noted the projectile had come from the Ukrainian territory. They also said there was no reliable information yet on the death toll. 

“In any case, firing missiles at a boarding school, where people could be, is a crime,” the deputy governor of the Kursk region, Alexander Khinshtein, said on Telegram.

jsi/dj (AFP,  Interfax)