At least 17 people are killed in an attack on the city of Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.
Eight commercial establishments and several cars were “completely burned” by Russia’s strike on Kostyantynivka, the Donetsk prosecutor’s office said in a Telegram post.
Twenty shops, power lines, an administrative building and the 5th floor of a residential building were also damaged. “There are still people under the rubble,” the message reads.
The blast occurred at Kostyantynivka, around 30km west of the city of Bakhmut.
President Zelensky was quick to accuse Russian artillery of targeting the town.
Police and rescue services are on the scene, still looking for survivors. It seems to be the worst attack of its kind for several months. The deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office says the number of wounded in Kostyantynivka has risen to 34.
The attack came just hours after the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, arrived in Kyiv, bearing pledges of further military and civilian assistance.
In the hours before he arrived, sirens wailed across the country and Kyiv’s air defence system was busy intercepting missiles aimed at the capital.
Credit: bbc.com
