Artillery shells fired at Donetsk by Ukrainian forces on Thursday landed in the vicinity of the main city market, Mayor Alexey Kulemzin has reported.
At least six people were killed in the attack and six others injured, the city chief said. One of the injured victims was identified as a teenager.
The Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) defense force released footage of what they said was the aftermath of the Ukrainian attack. It showed a heavily damaged bus in a street and what appeared to be a dead man in civilian clothes lying next to it in a pool of blood. More apparent civilian victims can be seen in other videos purportedly shot at the scene.
Earlier in the day, the head of the administration of Melitopol, a Russian-controlled city in Ukraine’s Zaporozhye Region, reported a blast at the city market. The explosion injured six people but didn’t claim any lives, the official said.
The DPR authorities regularly report artillery strikes by Ukrainian forces targeting various parts of Donetsk.
Earlier this week, the DPR and fellow Donbass republic of Lugansk, as well as parts of Ukraine predominantly controlled by Russia, the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, announced their intention to vote on whether they should request to join Russia.
Kiev dismissed the planned referendums and threatened any participant with criminal prosecution. Andrey Yermak, President Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff, responded to the news with a warning that “Ukraine will solve the Russian question,” adding that this could be done “only by force.”