Time is running out, Antonio Guterres told the 15-member Security Council
world2 days ago
A strike on a crowded market in the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine left at least 25 people dead and 20 wounded on Sunday, Moscow-backed officials said.
Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of a sharp escalation in attacks on civilian areas over the past two months.
Shattered storefronts and broken glass could be seen in videos shared by Russian state media, along with what appeared to be bodies lying on the ground nearby.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
"At the moment, information about 25 dead has been confirmed. At least 20 more people have been injured," said Denis Pushilin, head of the region's Russian-controlled administration.
He blamed Ukraine for the strike, calling it a "horrific" artillery attack on a civilian area.
Ukraine did not immediately comment, and AFP was not able to immediately verify the circumstances of the attack.
Officials said the strike hit a southwestern suburb of the city, less than 15 kilometres from Ukraine's eastern front.
Donetsk resident Tatiana said she heard an incoming projectile overhead, and hid under her market stall.
"I saw smoke, people screamed, a woman was crying," she told a local media outlet.
"Where is there anything military here? It's just a market," another resident named Tatiana told the same outlet. "This is one of the strongest blows in recent times," she said.
ALSO READ:
The toll marks one of the deadliest on the city since the crisis started in February 2022.
Donetsk, occupied by Russia and its proxy forces since 2014, has been repeatedly targeted by what Moscow has called indiscriminate Ukrainian shelling.
Moscow called Sunday's attack a "barbaric terrorist attack" that showed the need for its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
"Security threats and acts of terrorism should not be committed from the territory of Ukraine," its foreign ministry said.
News of the attack came as Russia reported another blaze on its energy infrastructure, this time at a gas terminal in the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga.
Kyiv earlier this week claimed responsibility for two attacks on oil depots in Russia, including one in the same Leningrad region where Ust-Luga is located.
Operator Novatek said there were no victims and that the fire was "currently localised" at the site, some 110 kilometres west of St Petersburg near the Estonian border.
The fire was caused by an "external factor", it said, without providing any further detail.
Ukraine, which has targeted Russian oil and gas infrastructure throughout the almost two-year conflict, did not immediately comment on the incident.
"No casualties as a result of a fire at Novatek's terminal in the port of Ust-Luga. Personnel were evacuated," Aleksandr Drozdenko, governor of Leningrad Oblast, said.
He shared a photo showing firefighters spraying water on a large fire at the terminal.
The RIA-Novosti news agency reported a 100 cubic metre container was ablaze.
The Ust-Luga complex processes natural gas condensate into naphtha, jet fuel and ship fuel components, according to Novatek's website.
Time is running out, Antonio Guterres told the 15-member Security Council
world2 days ago
Ukraine now spends roughly half of its state budget — or about $40 billion — on defence
world2 days ago
The advance of Moscow's forces, which control just under a fifth of Ukraine, has underlined Russia's vast superiority in men and materiel
world2 days ago
Teams of enumerators accompanied by soldiers and armed police went door to door in Yangon to fill in the 68-question survey
world2 days ago
The debate is likely the final one of the 2024 presidential campaign, potentially giving it some extra weight ahead of the November 5 election
world2 days ago
Taal is one of the world's smallest active volcanoes and some of its previous eruptions have impacted the capital and air travel
world2 days ago
The 207 to 121 vote was largely a repeat of the Conservatives' failed attempt last week to trigger snap elections
world2 days ago
Reporters say they are frequently rounded up for covering attacks by militant groups or writing about the discrimination of women
world2 days ago