Russian Bombs Strike Ukrainian Monastery Sheltering Refugees; Multiple Injuries Reported

A bomb exploded near the gate of a Ukrainian Orthodox monastery, injuring refugees who were sheltering there only hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated he was ready to hold peace negotiations with Russia.

A bomb burst 54 yards from the door of the Holy Dormition Svyatogorsk Lavra, a monastery in the Donetsk area that has sheltered more than 500 evacuees, including 200 children according to the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security (CSCIS).

The bomb exploded on a bridge that connects the Seversky Donets River's banks.

The explosion blasted off windows and doors, according to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the CSCIS, and several individuals had to be evacuated to a hospital in Svyatogorsk.

According to early indications, no one was killed in the airstrike.

Several wounded were taken to the hospital in Sviatohirsk, the rest were treated at the monastery.

According to the Daily Mail, the city of Svyatogorsk is working to restore electricity.

There are about 10,000 refugees and local residents in the city of Svyatogorsk.

Of the approximately 520 refugees, 200 of them are children.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said Friday it had recorded 1,581 civilian casualties since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24.

Those dead include 75 women, six girls, and nine boys, as well as 27 children and 352 adults.

About 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the invasion began, the AP said last week.