School shelling deaths in Ukraine hurt peace hopes

As reported in 'The Japan News' : The Associated Press, DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — The shelling of a high school in Ukraine’s rebel stronghold of Donetsk has chilled even the battle-hardened in this weary nation. The killing of two teenagers as they were playing soccer after lunch Wednesday is a stark reminder that the cease-fire agreed upon in September has only really ever existed on paper. Four other students were wounded, according to Dr. Vladimir Voropayev, chief of the children’s trauma unit at the regional hospital in Donetsk. The warring sides — government troops on one side and pro-Russian separatists on the other — now look as far from any lasting settlement as they ever were. In the soccer field at Donetsk’s school No. 63, two bloodied coats still lay out in the open Thursday as relatives and staff gathered at the scene. Alexander Yeliseyev, the father of one victim, 18-year-old Andrei, walked by in shock as he gathered belongings left behind when his son’s body was removed — a dark brown coat and a pair of sneakers. “They went to play football at about 2 p.m., while I was at work. And then the shelling began. Here you see the result,” Yeliseyev said, gulping back sobs. He said 14-year-old Danya, another student, was also killed. Authorities in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev said the security services will investigate the shelling of a school, but officials already appear to have made their mind up. Security spokesman Andriy Lysenko said preliminary information indicated the shells flew into the school from a location controlled by separatist forces.Speech