Sawt Falasteen - Russian-appointed officials killed in weekend bakery strike

The Kremlin has blasted the attack that killed at least 28 people as a "monstrous terrorist act."

On Monday, authorities in the Russian-controlled Lugansk region said a local government minister and two deputies were aong those killed.

"During the brutal shelling of the bakery in Lysychansk, the emergency situations minister of the Lugansk People's Republic, Colonol Alexey Poteleshchenko, was killed," the Moscow-appointed head of the region Leonid Pasechnik said in a post on Telegram.

Lugansk is one of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claims to have annexed.

Poteleshchenko fought in militia units for pro-Russian separatists against Ukraine before being appointed to the government post, Pasechnik said.

Two municipal deputies were also killed in the attack, Mayor Eduard Sakhnenko said in a social media post.

Almost two years since Russia launched its grinding offensive, Kyiv and Moscow have intensified attacks this winter. The frontline has barely moved however.

The Kremlin said the latest incident justified its ongoing offensive.

"Continued strikes on peaceful infrastructure, in this case the bakery, are monstrous terrorist acts. The number of victims speaks to the monstrousness of this terrorist act," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"To stop more of them, the special military operation is continuing," Peskov said, using Moscow's preferred language for its offensive.

Russian officials in parts of Ukraine under its control said 18 men, nine women and one child died when Ukraine struck the building on Saturday.

Russia released images of an almost completely destroyed building, with rescuers combing the rubble in the dark.

The one-storey building had a large sign on it that read "Restaurant Adriatic".

Russia said Saturday that Ukraine had used Western weapons in the strike and said it expected "unconditional condemnation" from the international community.

Ukraine has not yet commented.

The Ukrainian army's daily report on Saturday said aviation "struck 12 areas where enemy personnel were concentrated".

It also said its forces "struck one area of enemy concentration".

Lysychansk came under Russian control in mid-2022, after one of the most brutal battles of the offensive.

Q.Najjar--SF-PST