Russian strike hits Kramatorsk building
Ukraine warns of fresh assault on invasion anniversary
KYIV: Rescuers searched for survivors in the rubble of an apartment building in eastern Ukraine on Thursday after a Russian strike destroyed it, as Kyiv expects a major offensive on the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion.
At least three people were killed and 20 wounded on Wednesday when a Russian rocket struck the building in the center of the city of Kramatorsk, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk province.
Rescuers wearing torches on their heads worked to pull survivors from the debris, their faces covered in dust as they tried to find any sign of life under the cover of night.
After discovering the body of a resident who was crushed under the rubble, rescuers carried the victim away on a stretcher as firefighters worked their way through the mangled building structure.
Donetsk regional police said paramedics, search-and-rescue dogs and explosive experts were combing the area as they believed that more people could be trapped.
“Peaceful people died and are under the rubble,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote after the rocket strike. “This is the daily reality of life in our country.”
The strike in Donetsk — where Moscow has claimed to have captured fresh ground recently — came as the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approached.
“Given that [the Russians] live through symbols, we think that they will try something around February 24,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in an interview with French television, broadcast on Wednesday night.
“They could try an offensive on two fronts . ... We need arms to counter the enemy,” he said. “We do not underestimate our enemy . ... Their mobilization has not stopped.”
Reznikov said Kyiv believed Moscow had deployed about half a million troops, far more than Russia’s claim of 300,000 personnel currently mobilized.
Corruption clampdown
Also on Wednesday, Ukraine expanded a clampdown on corruption by launching coordinated searches of residences linked to a divisive oligarch and former interior minister, as well as tax offices in the capital Kyiv.
The searches came ahead of a key summit with the European Union and appeared to be part of a push by Kyiv to reassure military and financial donors in European capitals and Washington that Ukraine is tackling systemic graft.
“We are carrying out the task set by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and simultaneously delivering a global blow to the internal enemy,” said Vasyl Maliuk, the head of Ukraine’s security service, the SBU.
“Every criminal who has the audacity to harm Ukraine, especially in the conditions of war, must clearly understand that we will put handcuffs on him,” he added.
The searches have targeted influential billionaire Igor Kolomoisky and former interior minister Arsen Avakov, said David Arakhamia, head of Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party.
Law enforcement also raided tax offices in the capital and senior customs officials were fired.
Ukraine has suffered from corruption for years, but efforts to stamp it out have been overshadowed by Moscow’s invasion.
In the biggest political shakeup since Russia’s offensive started, authorities last week fired around a dozen senior figures, including defense officials and a top aide to the president’s office.
Investigators from the SBU released images of a search from the home of Kolomoisky, who was barred from entering the United States over allegations of corruption and undermining democracy.
Prior to the invasion, Kolomoisky was one of the country’s richest men, with holdings in a slew of industries, including media, aviation and energy.
The security service said the search had been launched over an investigation into the embezzlement of 40 billion hryvnia (about $1.1 billion) from energy holdings.
The government seized stakes in the energy companies — oil producer Ukrnafta and refiner Ukrtatnafta — as part of moves to consolidate the war effort.
It also uncovered a scheme by the head of the Kyiv tax office involving “multimilliondollar” fraud schemes, and accused the official of having abused his position.