Ukrainian artillerymen work at a position on the front line near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. (Genya Savilov/AFP)
- Luhansk in eastern Ukraine came under attack.
- The Russian-held city suffered an attack with cluster munitions.
- Fires broke out as result of both strikes.
The Russian-held city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine came under attack twice within three hours early on Tuesday, officials said, the latest in a series of strikes near the city.
Fires appeared to have broken out in both strikes. Ukraine made no official comment on either incident.
Leonid Pasechnik, Russia-installed governor of Luhansk region, said the first attack at about 21:00 (18:00 GMT) was made with cluster munitions.
“A fire has broken out as a result of the attack,” Pasechnik said, noting that information on casualties was being clarified.
Russia’s Tass news agency, quoting emergency services, cited injuries.
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Ukrainian media and war bloggers posted a picture of what they described as a large fire in the city.
A second strike hit the city at 00:00, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said, apparently in the same general area.
Rodion Miroshnik, a special ambassador for the ministry, said city residents had heard two explosions in the same district as the site of the first attack.
Miroshnik wrote on Telegram:
It cannot be ruled out that the repeat strike occurred at the site where rescue teams are dealing with the aftermath of the previous missile attack.
Ukrainian news outlets said the target of the second strike was an airfield and posted a video of a fire spreading over a wide area.
Reuters could not independently confirm battlefield accounts or what weapon might have been used.
Ukraine’s military has launched at least three attacks on Luhansk and nearby areas in recent weeks, targeting mainly fuel storage depots.
Russia annexed the Luhansk region several months after its February 2022 invasion, along with three other regions, though it does not fully control any of them.
Much of Luhansk has been occupied since 2014, when Russian-financed separatists took over swathes of territory in eastern Ukraine after large protests prompted Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych to flee the country and Moscow’s forces seized the Crimea peninsula.
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