Ukrainian Shelling of Donetsk Market Kills at Least 27

Local officials say 155mm and 152mm artillery shells were used

At least 27 people were killed in a Ukrainian attack on a market on the outskirts of the city of Donestk in the Russian-controlled portion of the Donetsk Oblast, according to local officials.

“As a result of Ukraine’s artillery shelling attack on the Tekstilshchik district, 27 civilians have died. Twenty-five more, including two teenagers, received various wounds,” said Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, which was created in 2014 in response to the US-backed coup in Kyiv.

Pushilin said Ukrainian forces used 152mm and 155mm artillery shells in the attack on the market. According to the Pentagon, the US has provided Ukraine with over 2 million 155mm rounds and over 200,000 152mm shells.

A spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the UN chief “strongly condemns all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, including today’s shelling of the city of Donetsk in Ukraine.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and said Western weapons were used. “This again confirms [the West’s] direct involvement in the conflict and makes it complicit in the criminal acts of the Zelensky regime, which has once again displayed its inhumanity and hatred towards innocent people,” the ministry said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not commented on the market bombing. Russian strikes were also reported in the Ukrainian-controlled side of Donestk on Sunday, with the governor saying two people were killed in two separate locations.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.