KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s armed forces stated Russian troops used stun grenades and gunfire to disperse a rally of pro-Ukrainian protesters within the occupied southern metropolis of Kherson on Monday.
Russia didn’t instantly touch upon the incident. Moscow denies focusing on civilians.
Video footage confirmed a number of hundred protesters in Kherson’s Freedom Square operating to flee as projectiles land round them. Loud bangs may be heard and there are clouds of whitish smoke. Gunfire can be heard.
“Russian safety forces ran up, began throwing stun grenades into the gang and taking pictures,” the Ukrainian armed forces’ press service stated in an announcement.
It stated at the very least one individual was wounded however that it was unclear how they acquired their accidents.
Reuters was unable to confirm independently what weapons have been fired.
The video confirmed some protesters returning to the sq.. One man in a black hat strolled again, stopped throughout the street from Russian troops and stood there on his personal, holding a small Ukrainian flag above his head.
The metropolis of Kherson, a regional capital of about 250,000 folks, was the primary massive city centre to fall into the fingers of Russian troops after they invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Since then, teams of residents have staged common rallies within the centre of Kherson, protesting in opposition to the occupation and exhibiting their help for the federal government in Kyiv by waving Ukrainian flags.
Earlier this month, the Ukrainian authorities stated members of Russia’s National Guard had detained greater than 400 folks in Kherson area for protesting in opposition to the occupation. It accused Russia of making an attempt to create a police state there.
Russia calls the conflict a “particular army operation” to disarm Ukraine and defend it from “Nazis”. The West describes this as a false pretext for an unprovoked conflict of aggression to subdue a rustic President Vladimir Putin describes as illegitimate.
(Reporting by Sergiy Karazy and Shane Raymond, Writing by Alessandra Prentice, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Janet Lawrence)
