Donetsk, Mar 21 - DAN. Ukrainian army units shelled School No 116 in Donetsk’s frontline Petrovskiy district on Thursday morning as classes were underway; damage to the building has been recorded.
“Today, at around 8:00 - 8:10, when the school bell had rung and the children were going to classes, there began heavy pounding,” school director Irina Stashevskaya said. “We immediately evacuated children to safe places. There were some 100 pupils in the school at the time.”
Rescuers came to the scene to check the premises; they found a shell near the school building, she added.
The shelling caused damage to the roof and walls. Classes were suspended and children were sent home aver the evacuation No casualties were immediately reported.
The Donetsk People’s Republic team at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination went to the scene.
School No 116 in Donetsk’s Petrovskiy district first opened its doors to pupils in 1939. During the civil war in Ukraine it repeatedly came under Ukrainian forces fire. In 2014, the shelling damaged its roof, windows and service lines. The authorities launched repairs in 2015 but later suspended them as more strikes were delivered at the area. The restoration of the building resumed in July 2018. The school reopened in February 2019.*jk