Strike on busy market kills 25 in Russian-held Donetsk
A strike on a crowded market in the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine left at least 25 people dead and 20 wounded on Sunday, Moscow-backed officials said. Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of a sharp escalation in attacks on civilian areas over the past two months. Shattered storefronts and broken glass could be seen in videos shared by Russian state media, along with what appeared to be bodies lying on the ground nearby. "At the moment, information about 25 dead has been confirmed. At least 20 more people have been injured," said Denis Pushilin, head of the region's Russian-controlled administration. He blamed Ukraine for the strike, calling it a "horrific" artillery attack on a civilian area. Officials said the strike hit a southwestern suburb of the city, less than 15 kilometres from Ukraine's eastern front. Donetsk resident Tatiana said she heard an incoming projectile overhead, and hid under her market stall. "I saw smoke, people screamed, a woman was crying," she told a local media outlet. The toll marks one of the deadliest on the city since Moscow launched full-scale hostilities against Ukraine in February 2022. Donetsk, occupied by Russia and its proxy forces since 2014, has been repeatedly targeted by what Moscow has called indiscriminate Ukrainian shelling. Moscow called Sunday's attack a "barbaric terrorist attack" that showed the need for its "special military operation" in Ukraine. "Security threats and acts of terrorism should not be committed from the territory of Ukraine," its foreign ministry said. (AFP)