At least 60 feared dead in Russian bombing of Ukraine school, says governor

Up to 60 people are feared dead after Russian forces bombed a school in eastern Ukraine, said the regional governor of Luhansk.

Governor Serhiy Gaidai said the bomb was dropped on Saturday afternoon on a school in Bilohorivka where around 90 people – “almost the whole village” – were understood to be taking shelter.

“The fire was extinguished after nearly four hours, then the rubble was cleared, and, unfortunately, the bodies of two people were found,” Mr Gaidai wrote on messaging app Telegram on Sunday. “Thirty people were evacuated from the rubble, seven of whom were injured.

“Sixty people were likely to have died under the rubble of buildings.”

A Russian aircraft is reported to have dropped the bomb on the village school, which is about seven miles from the frontline.

The attack came at around 4.30pm on Saturday, setting the building ablaze, which took almost four hours to get under control.

Mr Gaidai said heavy fighting had also hampered the rescue mission.

He told the BBC: “Considering it was an aircraft bomb, not an artillery shell, when the explosion happened, the temperature was wild.

“Of course, our state service emergency workers will try to clear the debris as fast as they can, but the chances of people still being alive are small.”

He said he hoped for the best and would give an update on the situation later when “maybe, someone will actually stay alive”.

Ukraine and its western allies have accused Russia of targeting civilians during its “special military operation”, an accusation the Kremlin has denied.

Late on Saturday, it emerged all women, children and elderly civilians had finally been evacuated from the Azovstal steelworks in the south eastern city of Mariupol after being trapped for a number of days under Russian bombardment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 300 civilians had been rescued from the Azovstal steelworks and authorities would now focus on trying to evacuate the wounded and medics.

The figures have varied among other Ukrainian sources.

The Ukrainian government had been working with the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to rescue the civilians sheltering in tunnels beneath the steelworks.

An estimated 2,000 Ukrainian troops are thought to remain at the plant, a last pocket of resistance in a city almost destroyed by Russian bombardment.

It is feared Russia is trying to clear the plant of all resistance ahead of its Victory Day on Monday, marking the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War.