In a statement released by Denis Pushilin, the governor of the Donetsk region appointed by Russia, 25 people were killed, and 20 others injured after Ukrainian forces shelled the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in the eastern region of Ukraine on Sunday.
Alexei Kulemzin, the mayor of Donetsk appointed by Russia, also reported that Ukrainian forces shelled a crowded area containing shops and a market.
Pushilin explained that the city came under Ukrainian artillery fire, and there has been no comment yet from Ukraine regarding the incident.
Images and videos from the scene of the attack, as shown by Reuters, depict people in tears, with some claiming to have lost their relatives. Bodies lay on the ground amidst snow stained with blood near a market in the city.
Pushilin mentioned that emergency teams are working at the shelling site, and forensic experts are attempting to collect fragments of the weapons used in the attack.
In Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement describing the attack as a “heinous terrorist act” by Ukraine, stating that it was carried out “using weapons provided by the West.”
The ministry expressed strong condemnation of this cowardly strike on civilian populations.
Russia, which initiated a large-scale invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago, has previously expressed anger when Ukrainian attacks resulted in civilian casualties in Donetsk and other areas.
However, the heavy airstrikes and bombardment by Russian forces have led to the deaths of thousands of Ukrainian civilians.
Donetsk is one of four Ukrainian regions that Russia declared annexed unilaterally last year, a move widely condemned as illegal by most nations in the United Nations General Assembly. Russia does not exercise full control over any of the four regions.
Separately, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday that forces had taken control of the village of Krokhmalnyi in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine.
A spokesperson for the Ukrainian army confirmed the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the village but stated that the village is small, and its capture has no significant impact on the overall military situation.
