Russian attack on mine in Donetsk Oblast kills 2 women, injures 1
Russian troops shelled a mine in Donetsk Oblast, killing two female mine employees and injuring one other person, Ukraine's Energy Ministry reported on Sept. 22.
According to the Energy Ministry, the shelling caused a fire to break out in the area above the mine, leading to the evacuation of 371 miners who were below the ground at the time of the attack.
After the attack, two female workers were found dead when the territory of the mine was inspected. Another person was taken to hospital.
The Energy Ministry did not specify where or when the attack took place, but Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin reported early on Sept. 22 that two people had been killed and one person had been injured in Udachne the previous day.
Udachne, a village 12 kilometers (7 miles) west of Pokrovsk, is the site of one of the largest coal mines in Ukraine.
Russian attacks against Ukraine's coal-rich Donbas region regularly put the lives of miners in danger.
An attack in July set fire to a mine in Donetsk Oblast with 86 miners inside. The Energy Ministry did not report any casualties after the fire was extinguished.
Earlier in September, 151 miners were trapped underground at a mine in Dobropillia, a town 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Pokrovsk, when a Russian attack caused a blackout.
Francis Farrell
