Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the Aug. 7 missile attack on Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, which killed seven people and injured nearly 90, hit a command post of Ukraine's Khortytsia Operational and Strategic Group.
In a comment for Ukrainska Pravda, the group's spokesperson Serhii Cherevatyi denied the statement, saying that it's already the "third or fourth time" Moscow claims to have destroyed this command post.
"This is Russian propaganda, which of course, does not correspond to reality…. Russian terrorists continue to fight with peaceful people," Cherevatyi told the media outlet.
"The enemy will get a response from the 'destroyed' team of Khortytsia." The Khortytsia group under Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi leads Ukrainian troops in the east.
Russian forces hit the central part of Pokrovsk with Iskander missiles twice on Aug. 7, causing large-scale damage to civilian infrastructure.
According to regional authorities, 12 high-rise buildings, a hotel, the building of a local prosecutor's office, a Pension Fund building, a pharmacy, two shops, two cafes, and cars were damaged in the attack.
As of 11 a.m. local time on Aug. 8, seven people are known to have been killed, including five civilians, a rescuer, and a soldier. Additional 88 people were injured, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said, including three currently in critical condition.
Pokrovsk is located some 50 kilometers from the front line, close to the administrative border with Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Daria Shulzhenko
(Updated: )
