On the morning of July 19, 2024, at least 10 loud explosions occurred in temporarily occupied Luhansk and struck the Lugansk Higher Military Aviation School, Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reports.
Images and videos were posted on several social media sites, showing the explosion and rising smoke over the eastern Ukrainian city Luhansk, currently occupied by Russian military forces. According to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by LX, air defense shot down three ATACMS missiles above the city.
The ATACMS (The Army Tactical Missile System) are tactical ballistic missiles or artillery weapons, designed to attack big targets such as airfields, control centers and air defense systems.
Ukrainian media sources have reported that Russian air defense systems shot down several ATACMS missiles, but nevertheless one managed to strike the Lugansk Higher Military Aviation School. The facility was formerly Ukraine’s flying training school, but since the war began, Russian occupiers have converted it into a military equipment base.
The occupation authorities immediately declared an attack by the Ukrainian armed forces and confirmed that air defenses had been activated. There has been no response from Ukrainian officials regarding the incident.
As UNIAN previously reported, 95% of the Luhansk region is occupied, with only 45 people living in the liberated area. According to Artyom Lysohor, Head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration, the majority of the population in the region are elderly people.
“The situation is difficult,” Lysohor said. “There are 45 people left, which is 5% of Luhansk residents. Even after the death of their neighbors, not everyone is in a hurry to leave. Last week, only four agreed to evacuate. Since Russians have occupied almost the whole region, they can use various weapons to devastate the part of the region that is still liberated.”
Ukrainian forces have recently increased their use of drones and missiles in targeting Russian military bases.