Ukraine Crisis: 1 Killed At Donetsk Dental College In Attack Meant For Rebel Headquarters

A Ukrainian military strike intended to hit the headquarters of pro-Russia separatists Thursday instead hit a dental college, killing one patient. The attack was the second unsuccessful attempt at blowing up the rebel headquarters in Donetsk. The strike inflicted massive damage on the dental college in Donetsk, including the college’s pediatric dental ward, although the wing was unoccupied at the time, the New York Times reported. The attack occurred around 10 a.m. local time Thursday. The balcony of an eighth-floor apartment and a nearby grocery store were also struck in the attack.

The artillery shells were meant for a rebel-held police building in Donetsk used as a headquarters by Igor Strelkov, the leader of the pro-Russian separatists in the Ukrainian city. The closest shell landed 300 yards away from the headquarters, according to the Times.

The strike was the second failed attempt to destroy the headquarters. A strike on Friday intended for the building instead killed a janitor working in a courtyard near the structure.

The attack is the latest clash between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russia separatists, who have been fighting for more than four months. The separatists, based in eastern Ukraine, are sympathetic to Russia, while the rest of the country wants the government to be aligned with the West.

“I don’t feel well at all,” Alexander Perikh, a survivor of Thursday's attack, said to The Times.