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MOSCOW: Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine said Monday that a strike by Kyiv’s forces on the rebel de facto capital Donetsk left at least 16 people dead, ahead of talks to resolve the war.
Rebel officials said fragments from a Ukrainian Tochka missile that was shot down had landed in the centre of the city leaving more than a dozen dead with many more injured.
“Sixteen deaths have been recorded” the self-proclaimed region’s health ministry said, adding that another 23 people had been injured.
The information lowers the count from 20 provided in an earlier toll provided by separatist authorities.
Official separatist Telegram channels distributed photos and video of the aftermath, showing burnt out cars, bodies strewn in the street, and damage to the exterior of shops.
AFP could not independently verify the death toll reported by authorities in the territory that has been controlled by pro-Moscow rebels since 2014.
In an interview with Russian state-run television, the head of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, said the shot-down rocket had inflicted damage to residential areas and repeated that civilians had died.
“People were waiting in line near an ATM and were standing at a bus stop,” he told the Rossiya 24 network.
“There are children among the dead,” Pushilin added, telling the network the casualty count would have been higher had the rocket not been downed.
Reports of the attack came as Ukrainian and Russian negotiators were scheduled to meet for a fourth round of talks to resolve more than two weeks of fierce fighting.
Rebel officials said fragments from a Ukrainian Tochka missile that was shot down had landed in the centre of the city leaving more than a dozen dead with many more injured.
“Sixteen deaths have been recorded” the self-proclaimed region’s health ministry said, adding that another 23 people had been injured.
The information lowers the count from 20 provided in an earlier toll provided by separatist authorities.
Official separatist Telegram channels distributed photos and video of the aftermath, showing burnt out cars, bodies strewn in the street, and damage to the exterior of shops.
AFP could not independently verify the death toll reported by authorities in the territory that has been controlled by pro-Moscow rebels since 2014.
In an interview with Russian state-run television, the head of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, said the shot-down rocket had inflicted damage to residential areas and repeated that civilians had died.
“People were waiting in line near an ATM and were standing at a bus stop,” he told the Rossiya 24 network.
“There are children among the dead,” Pushilin added, telling the network the casualty count would have been higher had the rocket not been downed.
Reports of the attack came as Ukrainian and Russian negotiators were scheduled to meet for a fourth round of talks to resolve more than two weeks of fierce fighting.
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