At least 25 people were killed and 20 injured in today's Ukrainian attack on a market in Donetsk, the leader of the region of the same name, annexed by Russia in September 2022, reported to Pro-Russian Denis Pushilin.
“At this point we have confirmed information about 25 deaths. At least 20 more people were injured, including two children, both in moderate condition,” Pushilin said in a statement released by his press office.
Previously he was mayor of the city, Alexei Kulemzinhad reported 18 dead and 13 injured on its Telegram channel, but noted that authorities were still receiving information about the aftermath of the attack.
Pushilin had also previously put the number of victims of the attack at 13 dead and ten injured, which he described as “monstrous”.
“An attack was carried out using artillery fire in combination with 152 and 155 millimeter caliber projectiles,” he stated.
The market affected by the attack is in the Tekstilshchik microdistrict in southwest Donetsk, a city over which Ukraine lost control in 2014 and which is a dozen kilometers from the front line and therefore within range of Ukrainian artillery.
The attack on Donetsk comes at a time of intensifying fighting on Ukraine's eastern front, where Russian troops have made some progress in the past day, according to the American think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Russia asserts that it is taking the initiative on all fronts, while Ukraine says it maintains an “active defense” that is containing the advance of Moscow’s troops.