Ukr. ‘catastrophe’
The humanitarian situation in the occupied Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk is rapidly deteriorating and on the verge of “catastrophe” — as fighting continues for control of the eastern Luhansk region of the country, local Ukrainian officials said Friday.
The city, located in the state of Luhansk, was captured by Russian forces last month after a long battle that left much of Severodonetsk in ruins and knocked out its power, water and sewage.
The city “is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe,” Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai posted on social media Friday. “The Russians have completely destroyed all the critical infrastructure, and they are unable to repair anything.”
Mayor Oleksandr Stryuk was quoted on the Telegram messaging app saying that the city’s ruined power grid, cut off from Ukrainian electrical plants, meant there was no water.
“Water intakes need a centralized supply of electricity to work,” he said. “Generators cannot cope with this.”
Haidai estimated 8,000 Ukrainian civilians remained behind in the city after Ukrainian forces retreated last week.
While Russia has claimed it is now in control of the whole of Luhansk — one the two provinces, along with Donetsk, that make up the industrial Donbas region — Haidai said Ukraine was still putting up a fight.
“Luhansk hasn’t been fully captured even though the Russians have engaged all their arsenal to achieve that goal,” Haidai told The Associated Press. “Fierce battles are going on in several villages on the region’s border. The Russians are relying on tanks and artillery to advance, leaving scorched earth.”
‘No pause’ in battle
On Telegram, the governor said Ukrainian forces were still fighting in two Luhansk towns.
Haidai also pushed back on this week’s assessment by a Washington think tank that Kremlin forces were taking an “operational pause” to lick their wounds. “There is no operational pause on the part of the Russians, the shelling does not abate,” he wrote.
Haidai said some civilians were trying to escape the region through Russian territory, and that Russian soldiers were charging civilians for safe passage through roadblocks.
He also said Ukrainian mobile phone service in the region had been “disconnected.”
Meanwhile, Russian shelling in Donetsk has intensified.
The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that at least 12 civilians had been killed and another 30 wounded by Russian artillery attacks over the last 24 hours.
Maybe there’s a “Pulp Fiction” mashup to come?
Director Quentin Tarantino — known for his ultraviolent films — is a huge “Peppa Pig” fan.
The 59-year-old filmmaker, who welcomed his second child last week with wife Daniella Pick, told Empire he watches the cartoon “a lot” with his 2-year-old son, Leo.
“I’ll say it — Peppa Pig is the greatest British import of this decade,” he declared.
Great idea, mates! Savvy firefighters in Australia used a sling and an excavator to rescue a nearly 900-pound horse that fell into a water tank Thursday in a New South Wales park.
The 5-year-old horse named Jester is “doing well” after the frightening fall at Belimbla Park.
She’s an easy rider. A 72-year-old cyclist has officially become the oldest person to cross the US by bike.
Lynnea Salvo’s 43-day, 2,083-mile Pacific Coast trek from the US-Canada border’s Peace Arch to San Ysidro in southern California ended in October.
In 2016, Salvo, then 67, became the oldest person to cross the US from California to Delaware, according to Guinness World Records.
Where’s a rubber cat when you need one?
A British exterminator called to rid a rat infestation had a “good laugh” when all he found was a rubber toy mouse.
Adam Leonard of Advance Pest Control in Bristol said it was likely the “easiest call-out in pest control history,” the BBC reported.
He got all bent out of shape.
An unlucky Indonesian was diagnosed with a rare penis condition called “eggplant deformity” after fracturing his manhood while doing his marital duty with his wife.
His most wince-worthy whoopie wound was detailed in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports.