The weather was splendid this Sunday in Mykolaiv, for the first time in a week. An azure blue sky, harsh light, no wind in this almost besieged city in southern Ukraine. Ideal conditions that allow you to properly adjust artillery fire and take advantage of data transmitted by reconnaissance drones to aim with precision.
The rain of steel fell on the civilians. Sunday morning around 11 a.m., a salvo of rockets fell on the avenue of the heroes of Ukraine, in front of a shopping center. Nine people were killed, according to regional governor Vitaliy Kim. According to the same source, in the middle of the afternoon, four civilians died when a Russian bomber dropped an explosive device on a school in the village of Zelionyi Haï, not far from the Mykolaiv military airfield.
Two hours after the massacre in the Avenue of the Heroes of Ukraine, the place is deserted. A policeman at the closed mine watches the parking lot. The windows were blown up by the explosions. Three impacts are visible in the asphalt, many small holes pierced by shrapnel in the storefronts. Black plastic sheets used to cover the bodies lie on the asphalt. One of them partially hides a large puddle of thick blood.
The few passers-by hasten their pace. Nadia Emelianenko, 70, says she heard many successive explosions. It was just 50 meters behind the corner of a store. “I saw several people lying down, people moaning, others inert. And a dead dog, she remembers. “It was terrifying! I couldn’t do anything to help, my back hurts too much to bend down. Besides, my children forbid me to go down the street because of the danger, but I can’t help it. I don’t have much time left to live, so it’s better for me to take risks than my children or my grandchildren. »
Waiting for evacuation bus
A lady and her teenage daughter observe the macabre scene sideways as they walk. “We come here to shop, because in our village in Kapustyne, all the shops are closed, we are constantly bombed”says Ania, the mother. “Today, there is no more public transport, we walked for two hours and I was only able to buy a fruit juice”, she said, showing the bottle apologetically.
The alley along the stores leads to a group of buildings. The bloody corpse of a dog lies near a garage. The rain of missiles hit the whole neighborhood. Shards of glass and other debris litter the floor. Families leave, dragging suitcases on wheels or loaded with bags. An elderly couple loads a car. The man shows a piece of shrapnel that shattered the window of his apartment. “We are moving to my daughter, who lives downtownhe explains. Here, it is no longer livable. We can no longer close our eyes. I’m going crazy ! »
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