The death toll in a Russian strike on a school in the Ukrainian village of Romny, in the north-eastern region of Sumy, has risen to four, the authorities said on Wednesday, August 23. Officials posted images of the building of the school completely destroyed.
"The number of victims of the Russian attack on the school in Romny has increased to four people," Ukraine's Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said on Telegram. Rescuers found the bodies of the "school director, deputy director, secretary and librarian" under the rubble, he added.
Four local residents passing by the school were wounded, said Klymenko.
He posted a photograph of a rubble-covered building, with a dozen rescuers clearing the rubble, with only one door left intact. The building was covered in bricks. Another photograph showed rescuers carrying a body bag.
"In the photo, among the ruins of the school, there is a surviving entrance to the shelter. Unfortunately, people did not go down during the alarm to a safe place," Klymenko said. The "rubble removal operation has been completed", he added.
Earlier, Klymenko had said two people had died in the attack and that rescuers believed two more were under the rubble.
Romny lies 230 kilometers (140 miles) east of Kyiv. The Sumy region, which borders Russia, is relatively far from the frontline.
Although for several months it was spared from the fighting seen in other eastern regions, deadly attacks have increased in recent weeks, especially since Russian forces went on the advance in the neighboring Kharkiv region. Russian forces entered the Sumy region at the start of their invasion last year but were pushed back by Ukrainian forces.