Support The Moscow Times!

Ukrainian Airstrikes on Occupied Donetsk Kill 3, Moscow-Backed Official Says

A woman in Donetsk stands outside a supermarket damaged by a Ukrainian strike. Dmitry Yagodkin / TASS

At least three people were killed Friday morning and six others were wounded in Ukrainian strikes on Russian-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, Moscow-backed officials said.

The Russian-installed governor of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, said Ukraine struck a square in the region's main city of Donetsk with precision-guided long-range missiles fired by HIMARS rocket launchers.

The strike on Shakhtarska Ploshcha killed two people and wounded two others, Russia's Investigative Committee told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency, accusing Ukraine of deliberately firing on civilian infrastructure.

A dashcam video released by Russian state media showed two large explosions followed by bursts of flame and several other explosions near a street where a bus and cars were passing.

Video footage filmed by investigators showed facades torn off and windows blown out in buildings, shrapnel holes in a car and what an investigator says were fragments from a HIMARS rocket.

The city of Donetsk has been under Russian control since 2014 and is far from the front line. However, it has been largely spared from the mass destruction wrought on other eastern Ukrainian cities by the war.

Ukraine also directly hit a multi-story apartment block in the town of Svitlodarsk closer to the front line, killing a woman and wounding four residents, Pushilin said.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more