Merefa declares three days of mourning after Russian missile strike kills six
The ambulance crew stopped the vehicle and immediately began assisting the injured, paramedic Oleksii Varzhelenko said (Photo: Suspilne Kharkiv / Oleksandr Manchenko)
A three-day mourning period has been declared in the city of Merefa in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region following a Russian missile strike that killed civilians on May 4, local authorities said.
Mayor Vitalii Sytov signed an order introducing mourning from May 5 to May 7, the Merefa community reported on Facebook.
Ukrainian flags will be flown at half-staff with mourning ribbons on government buildings, businesses, and institutions across the community. Entertainment events are banned, and music in public venues such as shops and restaurants is prohibited during the mourning period, the statement said.
An ambulance crew transporting a 70-year-old woman with a suspected stroke was caught near the strike site and stopped to assist the wounded immediately after the attack, paramedic Oleksii Varzhelenko told reporters, Suspilne reported.
“We were transporting a 70-year-old woman with a suspected acute stroke to the Merefa hospital. About 50 meters from the site, we first felt a powerful blast wave, then saw debris flying in all directions and thick smoke,” Varzhelenko said. “We had to stop the vehicle because casualties began to appear immediately. We provided assistance according to all protocols and standards.”
The strike caused numerous injuries, he said.
“The attack caught people by surprise. Everyone was going about their daily routines, no one expected this,” Varzhelenko said. “We handled the situation as best we could. There were many wounded. Five people approached us right away in relatively stable condition with non-critical injuries. About 20 meters away, there were severely wounded individuals who could not move, so we had to reach them and provide assistance.”
Russian forces struck Merefa at around 9:35 a.m., hitting road infrastructure, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said.
Preliminary information indicates a ballistic missile, likely an Iskander system, was used in the attack.
Six civilians were killed and 36 injured, including a 2-year-old boy who suffered cuts, the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office said.
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