Live blog: Dozens killed in Ukrainian strike on Donetsk — Russia
Russia-Ukraine war, the largest armed conflict in Europe since WW2, enters its 697th day.
Sunday, January 21, 2024
0907 GMT —
At least 25 people were killed and 20 others injured due to shelling in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk, which is currently under Russian control.
"At the moment, information about 25 deaths has been confirmed. At least 20 more people were injured, including two children in moderate condition," Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed head of the Donetsk region, said on Telegram.
Pushilin claimed the artillery shells were fired from the settlements of Kurakhove and Krasnohorivka, which are under Ukrainian control.
Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on Pushilin's claim.
In an earlier statement, Pushilin said that at least 13 were killed and 10 were wounded due to the shelling of a market area in Donetsk’s Tekstilshchik suburb.
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1305 GMT - Russia calls Donetsk strike 'barbaric terrorist act'
Moscow has called the strike on a market in the Russian-held city of Donetsk a "barbaric terrorist act" that showed the need for its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
"The neo-Nazi Kyiv regime, with the support of the United States and its satellites, once again committed a barbaric terrorist act against the civilian population of Russia," its foreign ministry said.
1030 GMT — Russia claims it thwarted Ukrainian drone attacks in Smolensk, Tula regions
Russia has claimed that its forces thwarted three Ukrainian drone attacks aimed at the country’s Smolensk and Tula regions.
The Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement that it shot down three aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the Smolensk region at about 1:30 am Moscow time (2230 GMT).
Following the attempted drone attack, Smolensk Governor Vasily Anokhin said on Telegram that there were no casualties in the region and that emergency services are working at the crash site.
Another drone was shot down over the Tula region at the same time by air defence systems, the ministry claimed in a separate statement.
Tula officials have yet to comment on possible casualties or damage in the region. However, RBC-Ukraine news agency claimed, citing unnamed sources from Ukraine's military intelligence, that the Ukrainian army successfully targeted a defence industry plant in Tula.
0923 GMT — Russia claims capture of village in eastern Ukraine
The Russian army has said that it had captured a village in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine.
"The village of Krakhmalnoye in the Kharkiv region was liberated," the Russian Defence Ministry said in its daily bulletin on operations in Ukraine, citing "successful active operations".
For our live updates from Friday (January 19), click here.