Moscow [Russia], September 10: At least 21 civilians have been killed in a Russian attack in eastern Ukraine, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky writing on Telegram on Tuesday that they were queuing for their pension payments.
The civilians were struck by a guided aerial bomb in the village of Yarova, north of the urban areas of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, Zelensky said.
The village is located on the Siverskyi Donets river, near the front line in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russian forces are targeting the town of Lyman.
The Kiev-appointed military governor of the Donetsk region, Vadym Filashkin, said the death toll was 21, with many more injured.
Rescue forces are still in action, Filashkin wrote, calling on residents to evacuate and flee to safer regions.
In a video published by Zelensky, numerous bodies can be seen, some only lightly clothed. There are no uniformed individuals among the victims.
"Such Russian strikes must not be left without an appropriate response from the world," Zelensky wrote.
He asserted that Russia will continue to kill if it is not stopped, and specifically appealed to the United States, demanding tougher sanctions.
Since returning to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump has made repeated efforts to end the war in Ukraine, which began more than three and a half years ago.
While he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in August, efforts to secure a ceasefire have seemingly petered out, with Putin saying last week that he would only meet Zelensky in Moscow.
Russian attacks on Ukraine have stepped up in recent weeks, with nightly raids with hundreds of drones, missiles and rockets targeting Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kiev.
Moscow claims that what it calls its "special military operation" is intended to protect Russian civilians in eastern Ukraine, including in Donetsk, where the latest attack was reported.
Source: Qatar Tribune
