Most recently, Ukraine counterattacked and advanced into Russia, damaging a weapons base. Moscow is striking back, but targeting civilians.
According to the Interior Ministry in Kiev, at least twelve people were killed and 44 others injured in a Russian attack on a supermarket in Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko announced the new number of victims on Friday in the online service Telegram and published photos of the fire service’s operation in the rubble of the building.
“Russian terrorists struck an ordinary supermarket and post office. People are under the rubble,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram. Rescue operations are ongoing.
The head of state expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. According to the Interior Ministry, a fire broke out on a good 1,000 square meters. Kostiantynivka is just over ten kilometers from the front line between Ukrainian and Russian troops.
AFP journalists on site reported dozens of people fleeing. Local police warned of a possible second attack. Black clouds of smoke rose from the supermarket and police cordoned off the surrounding streets. Drones and increased artillery fire could also be heard in the area.
Further attacks on eastern Ukrainian city expected
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the online service Telegram that Russia would be “held accountable” for the attack, which took place in the middle of the day. The Ukrainian regional governor of Donetsk, Vadym Filashkin, described the attack as “another targeted attack on a busy place.”
Before the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Kostiantynivka had around 67,000 inhabitants and is located near the front in the industrial region of Donetsk. The Russian army shells the city almost every day. According to Governor Filashkin, two civilians were killed in the city just on Wednesday.
Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian invasion for almost two and a half years. Russia lays claim to the entire mining-dominated eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk and other Ukrainian territories.
Note: This post has been updated.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
