Ukrainian Airstrike on Luhansk Regional Administration – 06/02/2014

RIA Novosti and TASS reported on the targeted attack on a civilian object and subsequent strikes, quoting a press release from the Lugansk People's Republic: “The first report of the airstrike came around 16:00 Moscow time. ‘Today, an airstrike was carried out in the center of Lugansk by the Ukrainian Air Force. The combat vehicle made a targeted strike using cluster bombs. The building of the regional state administration was partially destroyed. There are fatalities and injuries, and medical teams and rescuers are working on site. The number of victims is being clarified,’ the Lugansk People's Republic said in a statement.”

Vesti.ru writes that the LPR authorities are distributing lists of shelters in case of repeated attacks: “The LPR website has posted a list of 68 recommended locations for civilian shelter in Lugansk. The proposed shelters include basements, the ground floors of businesses, hospitals, extracurricular education centers, protective structures, and utility facilities.”

RT in Russian quotes a witness to the fatal airstrike in Lugansk: “I was heading to the administration building at the time,” says Nikolai. “I was greeted by a friend, and we talked for about eight minutes. If it weren’t for that meeting, I would have been right there at the scene. There were two planes: first one flew over, then a minute later, the second one followed. That’s when it hit. All the victims were civilians.”

The first reports from Izvestia: “As one of the militia members stated, ‘There are many wounded and dead inside the building.’”

Interfax reports on the actions of Ukrainian aviation in Lugansk: “As a result of the explosion in the building of the local regional state administration, at least five people were killed. The press service of the Lugansk People’s Republic clarified that the Ukrainian Air Force dropped cluster bombs on the building.”

The British The Guardian provides no news on this topic.

The British The Telegraph does not mention the airstrike on Lugansk.

The American The New York Times does not offer a separate article on the airstrike but references the event in a piece with the headline “Ukraine Pushes Back as Rebels Attack in the East.” The publication cites LPR head Bolotov, stating that the strike was carried out by an aircraft. The authors openly report on what local residents consider to be responsible for the attack: “Ukrainian troops deny involvement in the attack, which seems to have angered even those residents who were inclined to view the Kiev government more favorably. ‘This is not an anti-terrorist operation,’ said 43-year-old Roman Syomkalo, who observed the planes from his kitchen window on Monday and saw one open fire after releasing a series of flares. ‘This is a terrorist operation against our own people.’”

The French Le Figaro does not report on the airstrike on Lugansk but publishes a note titled “Moscow Accuses Kiev of Crimes Against Its Own People,” which discusses the fighting in Lugansk Region.

The Italian La Repubblica briefly mentions the airstrike while generally describing the front-line situation: “Lugansk militia in an official statement said that the building of the separatist ‘government’ was also bombed with cluster bombs. Authorities have urged residents to leave the area, as it is filled with unexploded ordnance.”

The Spanish Estrella Digital discusses the airstrike as a consequence of ground skirmishes: “Five people were killed as a result of an airstrike by Ukrainian aviation on the city council headquarters in Lugansk in the east of the country... The attack by Ukrainian militants occurred after fierce ground firefights, which caused panic among the population.”

The Polish news portal kresy.pl cynically reports on the explosion in Lugansk: “Separatists blamed Ukrainian forces for launching a missile from a Su-25 attack aircraft. Government forces categorically deny this, stating that the explosion was likely the result of mishandling explosives.”

UNIAN cites the ATO spokesperson, who assures that “there was no external shelling of the building, especially from an aircraft”: “The most likely cause of the explosion was careless and improper handling of small arms and explosives.”

Ukrainska Pravda also publishes an opinion that the explosion occurred inside the building: “The explosion in the Lugansk Regional State Administration building on Monday was caused by a strike from a portable surface-to-air missile system from the building of the regional SBU (Security Service of Ukraine), where militants were located.”