Market is said to have been hit
Many dead in rocket attack on Donetsk
January 21, 2024, 1:13 p.m
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Russia regularly bombards Ukraine with a hail of rockets, and Kiev retaliates. A bullet hits the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk. According to local information, a market was said to have been hit. There are numerous dead and injured.
At least 25 people were killed in an attack on a market in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, which was occupied by Russian troops, according to local authorities. According to the latest information, at least 20 people were injured, said the pro-Russian governor of the Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, on Telegram. “The market was attacked on a Sunday when it is particularly busy,” he explained.
The regional governor had previously put the number of deaths at at least 18 and spoke of a “terrible bomb attack”. The mayor of Donetsk, Alexei Kulemsin, reported shelling from the northeast of the city. There was initially no reaction from the Ukrainian side. The information could not be independently verified. In some cases, Ukrainian media also distributed photos and videos of a devastated market.
The large city of Donetsk is located in eastern Ukraine, around 20 kilometers from the front. It came under the control of pro-Russian separatists as early as 2014 and has been regularly attacked by the Ukrainian army since then. According to Russian-controlled authorities, four people were killed and 13 others injured in attacks on New Year’s Eve. The latest attack on the market is the most devastating in recent months.
The Ukrainian armed forces have repeatedly stated that they want to retake the territory occupied by Russian troops. The Donetsk region is partly controlled by Russian and partly by Ukrainian troops.
In February 2022, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin initially recognized the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states and then began his war against Ukraine under the pretext of protecting Russian citizens there. In the fall of 2022, Putin annexed the regions along with the partly occupied areas of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and incorporated them into the Russian Federation.