The bombing of a village school in the eastern Ukrainian district of Luhansk by Russia is believed to have killed up to 60 people, according to the regional governor.

According to Governor Serhiy Gaidai, Russian forces detonated a bomb on the school in Bilohorivka where some 90 people were sheltering on Saturday afternoon, causing a fire to overtake the structure.

“After nearly four hours, the fire was put out, the rubble was cleaned, and regrettably, the deaths of two persons were discovered,” Gaidai said on the Telegram messaging service.
“From the rubble, thirty persons were rescued, seven of them were injured. Under the debris of buildings, sixty individuals were estimated to have died.”

The report was not immediately verified by Reuters.

In the fight, Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russian soldiers of attacking civilians, which Moscow denies.

Scores of residents have been evacuated from a large steel complex in the wrecked southern port city of Mariupol in a week-long operation coordinated by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

More than 300 citizens had been rescued from the Azovstal steelworks, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who said authorities would now focus on evacuating the wounded and medics. Different figures have been provided by other Ukrainian sources.

The Azovstal complex is a last bastion for Ukrainian soldiers in a city that is now entirely under Russian control, and many residents have sought sanctuary in its underground shelters. It has become a symbol of opposition to Russia’s attempt to annex large areas of eastern and southern Ukraine.

Separatists backed by Russia stated on Sunday that 182 civilians who had been evacuated from the facility had arrived at a temporary lodging point in Bezimenne, which they control. They stated those who wanted to visit Ukraine’s controlled territories were turned over to UN and ICRC agents.

Hundreds of people waited to be registered in a vehicle park set up to welcome evacuees in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia, roughly 230 kilometres (140 miles) northwest of Mariupol. They had escaped the port city and adjacent seized territories on their own or with the help of volunteers.

“There are still a lot of people in Mariupol who want to leave but can’t,” said history teacher Viktoria Andreyeva, 46, who said she had only recently arrived in Zaporizhzhia after fleeing her devastated Mariupol house with her family in mid-April.

“The air is different here, free,” she remarked, standing in a tent where volunteers were handing out food, basic supplies, and toys to the newcomers, many of whom were travelling with small children.

On Victory Day, when Europe remembers Germany’s formal surrender to the Allies in World War Two, Zelenskiy claimed that evil had returned to Ukraine with the Russian invasion, but that his country will triumph.

Putin describes the invasion, which began on February 24, as a “special military operation” to disarm Ukraine and cleanse it of anti-Russian nationalism stoked by the West. Ukraine and its allies accuse Russia of starting a war without warning.

Mariupol is critical to Moscow’s aspirations to link the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014, with sections of the eastern provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, which have been under the hands of Russia-backed separatists since the same year.

Putin issued Victory Day messages to separatist leaders in Luhansk and Donetsk, telling them that Russia was fighting alongside them and comparing their efforts to the struggle against Nazi Germany. According to a Kremlin news release issued on Sunday, Putin stated, “Victory will be ours.”

In a display of solidarity ahead of Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on Monday, US President Joe Biden and other G7 leaders were to share a video conversation with Zelenskiy on Sunday.

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Britain offered an additional 1.3 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) in military support and aid to Ukraine, more than doubling its previous financial commitments.

Putin will address a parade of troops, tanks, rockets, and intercontinental ballistic missiles in Moscow’s Red Square on Monday, giving a speech that could provide insight into the war’s future. Logistical and equipment challenges, as well as significant casualties in the face of tough resistance, have hindered Russia’s attempts.

On Saturday, US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns stated that Putin believes that “doubling down” on the crisis will benefit Russia.

“He’s in a mindset where he doesn’t believe he can afford to lose,” Burns said on Saturday at a Financial Times event in Washington.

Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Sunday that its forces had destroyed a Ukrainian navy ship in Odesa with a missile strike overnight, as well as four Ukrainian jets, four helicopters, and an assault boat.

Ukraine reported nine Russian strikes in Donetsk and Luhansk were thwarted, with 19 tanks and 20 combat vehicles destroyed.

Ukrainian forces have retreated from the city of Popasna, which has been the scene of fierce combat, according to the Luhansk governor. “Everything there was destroyed.” He informed Ukrainian television that his soldiers had retreated to more defended positions.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the president of Russia’s Chechen region, announced yesterday that his troops had gained control of most of Popasna.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the statements made by any of the battling sides.