An eyewitness account of the shelling of Kremenchug/Channel 24
On the afternoon of June 27, Ukraine was numb with horror after terrible Russian shelling of the mall in Kremenchug. The invaders knew perfectly well that at that moment there were many civilians there, and there were no military facilities nearby. The invaders try each time to hit the Ukrainians as hard as possible, striking more and more with cruelty.
- 1 they had children
- 2 Previously, mall workers did not evacuate
- 3 The victims could have been avoided
- 4 People will have to be identified by their limbs
Channel 24 journalists found and talked to a witness of the incident, who saw with his own eyes how a Russian rocket flew into a shopping center.
Oleg Popenko, Chairman of the Union of Utilities Consumers, lives not far from the Amstor shopping and entertainment center – just some 700 meters from it. He felt the “arrival” of the first rocket that hit the local stadium. The man had just stepped out onto the balcony when the second rocket hit the shopping mall.
People had limbs torn off, there were children among them
Let's try to recreate the chronology of events. How long did it take from the air raid signal to the first arrival?
First there was a siren and after 8-9 minutes the first rocket fell (it hit the stadium – channel 24). I went out to the balcony after I heard the first explosion. He was strong. And right at that moment, in front of my eyes, the rocket hit the mall. It happened 15 – 20 seconds after the first “arrival”.
From a strong blow, the glass in neighboring houses fell down. I heard a lot of terrible screams coming from the mall to my house. These were women's and children's cries. When I approached the scene, I saw a huge number of ambulances who were taking out the wounded. There were many people with severed limbs, including children.
Pay attention! Kremenchuk overnight increased to 18. As a result of the attack, 59 victims remain. 25 people were hospitalized.
The voiced data is true. More than 1,000 people were in the room along with the workers.
Are there military installations nearby that Russian propaganda is talking about trying to justify their crimes?
The information that an oil depot or an oil refinery is located nearby is completely untrue. The nearest oil refinery is located at a distance of 14 kilometers. Therefore, hitting the mall is a direct hit on the target.
Amazing!According to Oleg Popenko, the head of the Russian group of troops, which is located near Kursk and led the rocket launch, he himself comes from Kremenchug and his mother lives there. The workers of the mall were not allowed to evacuate”>Preliminarily, the workers of the mall were not evacuated
Some people were evacuated on their own after the air raid signal. Why was there no organized evacuation?
There was no organized evacuation. And the employees of the shopping mall were apparently not allowed to leave their jobs. As far as I know, they should have worked.
What I've seen is that people barely reacted to the air raid signal. Lately, people in Kremenchuk don't respond to sirens.
Victims could have been avoided
I remember how in the first days of the war, other malls in the vicinity of Kremenchug conducted special training and learned how to evacuate people. And the response time is set to 10 minutes.
People will have to be identified by their limbs
< p>What is the condition of the victims that you saw at the place of arrival?
The situation there was very difficult. Rescuers are still continuing the search and rescue operation. One of the rescuers said that people would only have to be identified by their limbs.People are torn apart. It is almost impossible to recognize them.
The worst thing is that entire families suffered. For example, mom or dad was playing with a child on the playground, and the other parent was waiting for them at the mall. Unfortunately, many children were hurt.
The main thing about the strike on the Kremenchug mall
- On the afternoon of June 27, Russian invaders launched Kh-22 missiles at Kremenchug. Two shells of Russian invaders hit the Amstor shopping center. There were about 1,000 visitors in the building then. The air raid signal warned people of the danger, some of them began to head for the exit. This is what saved more lives.
- After the impact, a large-scale fire broke out in Amstor with an area of more than 10,000 square meters. As of the morning of June 28, the State Emergency Service units examined and dismantled fragments of building structures on 60% of the total area of the facility. 440 people (including 14 psychologists) and 70 pieces of equipment were involved in the work from the State Emergency Service.
- The Russian invaders fired X-22 missiles from aircraft from the territory of the Kursk region from Tu-22 M3 bombers. Enemy planes took off from the Shaikovka airfield. Analysts managed to establish the names of Russians who may be involved in a war crime.
- Polish President Andrzej Duda reacted to the murder of civilians by Russians in Kremenchuk. He noted that the response to the missile attack on the shopping center should be an increase in military support for Ukraine.
