At least 14 Ukrainians killed in Russian missile attack in eastern Donetsk
- 9 August, 08:50
A Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s Kostiantynivka city in eastern Donetsk region killed at least 14 people and injured 43 others on Friday. Residential houses, shops and more than a dozen cars were also damaged in the attack, according to the Ukrainian Interior Minister's post on Telegram.
"No situation on the battlefield can justify targeting civilians," Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said on X. Emergency services continued working out the rubble looking for survivors, he added. Donetsk governor Vadym Filashkin said Russia used a Kh-38 air-to-surface missile in the attack.
Kostiantynivka is about 13 kilometers from the frontline in eastern Donetsk region. The region’s Ukraine-controlled areas come under constant Russian attack. The attack on Kostiantynivka came amid Ukraine’s cross-border assault on Russia’s western Kursk region. The Kyiv military has not commented on that operation yet.
It should be noted that July saw the heaviest civilian casualties in Ukraine since October 2022, according to the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. The mission said in a statement on Friday that the conflict-related violence killed at least 219 civilians and injured 1,018 in July. Russia denies intentionally targeting civilians although it has killed thousands of them during the 29 months since it launched its full-scale invasion.