Dozens of Ukrainian troops killed in military barracks hit by Russia — witnesses

By AFP 19 March 2022, 2:38 pm

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Ukrainian soldiers search for bodies in the debris at the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on March 19, 2022. (Bulent Kilic/AFP)

KYIV, Ukraine — Dozens of soldiers were killed after Russian troops struck a Ukrainian military barracks in the southern city of Mykolaiv, witnesses tell AFP while a rescue operation is underway.

“No fewer than 200 soldiers were sleeping in the barracks” when Russian troops struck yesterday morning, a Ukrainian serviceman on the ground, 22-year-old Maxim, tells AFP without providing his last name.

“At least 50 bodies have been recovered, but we do not know how many others are in the rubble,” he says.

Another soldier estimates that the bombing could have killed around 100 people. Authorities haven’t yet released an official death toll.