Serhiy Gaidai, governor of eastern Ukraine's Lugansk region, said on Sunday that there were fears that up to 60 people had been killed in Saturday's bombing by Russian forces on a school in a village in the region.

Gaidai added that on Saturday, Russian forces dropped a bomb on the school in the village of Belhorivka, where about 90 people were sheltering, causing a fire that engulfed the building.

He said that 27 out of the ninety people who are still under the rubble have been pulled out, and he explained that it would be a miracle to get the stranded out from under the rubble of the school, and that their survival rate is very low.

He confirmed that another bombing took place in the town of Shepilov, and that 11 people were trapped under the rubble.


horrific bombing

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the bombing of the school as "horrific" and demanded the protection of civilians, his spokesman said Sunday.

"The May 7 bombing of a school in Belogorivka... is appalling," said a statement by a spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric.

"Guterres reiterates that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected in time of war."

He pointed out that this attack "reminds once again that it is civilians who pay the greatest price in this war and in many conflicts."


Azovstal blockade

On the other hand, Russian forces continued to bombard the area of ​​the steel plant in Azovstal, the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the devastated coastal city of Mariupol.

Regarding the situation in the city of Mariupol and the besieged Azovstal complex, Donetsk separatists said that 145 civilians were evacuated from the city to the town of "Bizimnoy", which is under their control.

Also, 8 buses carrying 174 civilians arrived in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia, including 40 evacuees from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khosnolin said on Telegram that he visited the city of Mariupol on Sunday.

He is the highest-ranking Russian official so far to reach the city on the Azov Sea after weeks of Russian bombardment.

In turn, Svyatoslav Balamar, deputy commander of the "Azov Battalion" of the Ukrainian army, which is entrenched in the Azovstal complex, said that Russian forces continue their attacks on the complex.

Palamar added that his forces need urgent support from the Ukrainian government and a third party to ensure a ceasefire, the evacuation of the wounded and the recovery of the dead from the besieged compound.


Other battles

On the Russian side, the Defense Ministry announced in its briefing on Sunday the destruction of a "mechanical brigade command center" in the Kharkov region (east), as well as the "communication center of the Chervonoglinskoye military airport near the village of Artsyz."

For their part, the separatists in Donetsk announced their control of two towns in the Volnovakha region, after fighting with Ukrainian forces.

In Lugansk, the separatists declared control of the town of "Svetlichnaya", which they said was one of the most fortified towns for the Ukrainian forces, south of Severodonetsk.

They also broadcast pictures, which they said were of the battles waged by their forces in the forests near the city of "Severodonetsk", the last city controlled by the Ukrainian army in the province, and they said that the Ukrainian army left behind large quantities of weapons, equipment and Western-made ammunition, near the town of "Vovovodovka".

In the city of Odessa in southern Ukraine, Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that two missiles hit the coast of the city, which is located near the Black Sea, one of which destroyed a coastal tourist resort, while another missile hit a beach and led to the outbreak of fires.

On the other hand, the Southern Operations Department announced the operation of air defenses to try to confront the missiles launched towards the city of Odessa.


gathering forces

On the other hand, the Ukrainian General Staff said that the Russian forces are continuing their offensive operations in the east of the country, with the aim of fully controlling Donetsk, Lugansk and Kherson, and securing the land route to Crimea.

The authority added that Russia is regrouping its forces in Izyum to increase its offensive capabilities, while it was satisfied with defensive operations in Kharkiv to prevent the Ukrainian forces from advancing.

In the south of the country, the Ukrainian staff said that its forces thwarted an attempt by Russian forces to take control of the town of Oleksandryvka, south of Mykolaiv.

The authority also accused Russia of focusing on destroying the infrastructure of Ukrainian airports, with the aim of paralyzing the air capacity of the Ukrainian forces, including the use of Turkish-made "Bayraktar" drones.


Kadyrov's statements

For his part, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said that the Russian forces and the separatist Luhansk forces had taken full control of the town of Yuzhny, south of Severo-Donetsk, and that the road was now open for them to advance towards the city of Lyschansk.

Kadyrov, whose forces are participating in the battles in the Lugansk axis on the side of the separatists, added that the Russian forces seized weapons and equipment from the Ukrainian forces.

Pro-separatist accounts in Donbass posted clips they said were of battles in the vicinity of Lysekhansk, which borders Severo-Donesk, the last city held by the Ukrainian army in Lugansk province.

In the same context, Al-Jazeera correspondent in the Donbass region said that the intensity of military operations in the Lugansk province witnessed a remarkable increase yesterday evening, Sunday, and that the Ukrainian forces were forced to redeploy them outside some cities and towns, after the progress made by the Russian and separatist forces in the province.


G7 sanctions

The Group of Seven major industrialized countries announced on Sunday their commitment to ban or phase out Russian oil imports, in a new step to put pressure on Russia.

The G7 leaders (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States) said in a joint statement, "We are committed to phasing out our dependence on Russian energy, including phasing out or banning the import of Russian oil. We will ensure that we do so in time. appropriate and orderly.

The United States and Europe have imposed many sanctions on Russia since the start of its war on Ukraine on February 24, and the sanctions have targeted banks, companies and individuals in an attempt to pressure the Russian economy and limit the resources used in this war.