Russian attack kills 16 in east Ukraine as Blinken visits Kyiv, say officials
Russian attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka on Wednesday as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said.
Footage circulated online by presidential officials showed people falling to the ground or running for cover after a huge explosion in front of them, seconds after some look up to the sky when they hear what sounds like a missile approaching.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the attack, saying a market, shops and a pharmacy had been struck in the industrial city close to the battlefield.
«This Russian evil must be defeated as soon as possible,» Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app.
«When someone in the world still attempts to deal with anything Russian, it means turning a blind eye to this reality.
The audacity of evil. The brazenness of wickedness.
Utter inhumanity.»
He later told a press conference in Kyiv that he believed it had been a deliberate attack on «a peaceful city».
«This is one more terrorist attack by the Russian Federation. They deliberately hit the market,» he said.
Kostiantynivka, which had a population of about 70,000 before Russia's invasion 18 months ago, is about 30 km (19 miles) from the devastated city of Bakhmut, where fighting has been heavy for months.
It is about 560 km from Kyiv, where Blinken was meeting Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian leaders on a visit intended to show support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion.
SERIES OF ATTACKS
Wednesday's strike followed a series of Russian attacks on cities in eastern Ukraine in which civilian infrastructure has been hit, including a popular cafe, a hotel and shops.
It also followed air strikes several hours earlier on Wednesday on Kyiv and the southern region of Odesa.
