School bomb kills 60 people
VLADIMIR Putin’s troops have bombed a school in Ukraine, killing up to 60 people.
Around 90 civilians are said to have been sheltering in the building when it was turned into a fireball by the attack.
Only 30 had been reported as rescued last night. At least two people are confirmed as dead.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she is “horrified” by the airstrike in the village of Bilohorivka, in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine.
She added the deliberate targeting of civilians “amounts to war crimes”.
Russian forces have intensified their bid to take Luhansk ahead of Victory Day today, which marks the surrender of the Nazis in the Second World War.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Evil has returned. In a different form, under different slogans, but for the same purpose.”
After talks with Mr Zelensky, the G7 leaders promised more help for Ukraine and condemned Russia’s “indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, which has resulted in terrible humanitarian catastrophe”.
Downing Street said Boris Johnson told his G7 counterparts “the world must go further and faster to support Ukraine”.
He said it was especially important as it is “clear human rights abuses and war crimes” are being committed.
The British Ministry of Defence said the high casualty rate of Putin’s commanders – forced to the front line to boost results – has made matters worse by leaving forces “slow to deal with setbacks”.
US First Lady Jill Biden has made an unannounced visit to Ukraine where she met counterpart Olena Zelenska and said: “I thought it was important to show that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine.”
Russia’s deputy prime minister Marat Khusnullin was in Mariupol, making him the country’s most senior official to visit the Ukrainian city during the war. Moscow said its forces have destroyed weapons and military equipment from Western nations near the city of Soledar.
While Russian shells have reportedly hit an oil refinery at Lysychansk in east Ukraine, damaging production facilities.
Amnesty International has said it has evidence of extensive Russian war crimes including arbitrary killings.