The city of Kostyantynivka is not far from the front in eastern Ukraine and has repeatedly been the target of Russian attacks. Now there has been particularly brutal shelling in broad daylight.
According to official sources, at least 17 people – including a child – were killed by Russian shelling of a market square in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka. More than 30 other people were injured, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko announced on Telegram in the evening. The search and rescue work is now complete.
Zelenskyj: “Insolence of Evil”
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also confirmed the Russian attack and the many fatalities in the city in the Donetsk region. “A normal market. Shops. A pharmacy. People who have done nothing wrong,” he wrote, expressing his condolences to the victims’ families. Zelenskyj also spoke of the “impudence of evil”. In addition, in his evening video address, he thanked all international partners who condemned the attack. “It is very important that the response to Russian terror was even greater world cohesion,” he said.
The head of state also released a short video intended to show the moment of the explosion in the busy neighborhood. He also showed photos of damaged house facades, pools of blood on the ground and rescue workers extinguishing the flames. It was initially unclear what exactly hit the projectile. Some local media assumed an S-300 missile.
EU condemns attack
The EU strongly condemned the attack. A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in Brussels that she was also calling on Russia to stop its inhumane and illegal aggression immediately. “Deliberate attacks on civilians are war crimes. All commanders, perpetrators and accomplices of these atrocities will be held accountable.”
Kostyantynivka is just under 20 kilometers southwest of the city of Bakhmut, which the Russians occupied a few months ago as part of their war of aggression, and has repeatedly been the target of Russian attacks. In July, Ukraine accused Russia of using a cluster bomb in Kostyantynivka, killing a child. Even before that, civilians were repeatedly killed by Russian attacks in the Ukrainian-controlled city.
Source: Stern
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