Ukrainian Troops Pull Artillery To Schools, Refuse To Evacuate Civilians - Russia

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd May, 2022) A senior Russian defense official accused Ukrainian troops in control of parts of the eastern Donetsk region of pulling heavy artillery and military hardware to schools and nurseries.

Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had not allowed evacuations from the cities of Bakhmut, Chasiv Yar and Novoekonomichne and apparently planned to use civilians as "human shields."

"Ukrainian armed forces have holed up in Bakhmut's School No 2, Chasiv Yar's Vocational School No 22, and in Novoekonomichne's Solnyshko kindergarten and School No 1. They are storing military equipment and rocket launchers on the grounds," Mizintsev said.

The Russian military has located Ukrainian military equipment in a nursery and a shipbuilding college in Mykolaiv in the Donetsk region and an arms depot in a school in the central city of Dnipro.

Mizintsev also said that Ukrainian troops had bombed residential areas in the village of Mykolaivka in Luhansk region, killing and wounding civilians. He said Ukrainian media workers and reporters from the New York Times had photographed the aftermath of the strikes and would likely blame them on Russia.