Ukrainian rocket artillery that the country received from Western nations, has injured some 20 civilians in the frontline Donbass city of Volnovakha, the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) reported.
The rockets hit what Denis Pushilin described as an “absolutely peaceful district” in the city, and he listed a bus stop, a school and a humanitarian warehouse as having been affected by the shelling.
The DPR civic defense office identified
the projectiles as fired by HIMARS rocket launchers, a US-made weapon system. Near the warehouse alone, officials found six craters left by the Ukrainian shelling, it said. The facility is used to distribute building materials to householders in need.
RT correspondent Roman Kosarev visited the location and found it abandoned. He said everyone had been evacuated because the authorities feared a second strike by Ukrainian forces.
The initial attack was launched at around 9am local time (6am GMT), when the warehouse was busy with people seeking assistance, he noted. At least two of the victims are said to be in serious condition.
In a separate incident in a village near Volnovakha, a six-year-old girl was mortally injured after stepping on a mine remotely deployed by Ukrainian forces, Pushilin said.
According to the region’s interior ministry, the mine had parachuted down inside the property of the girl’s family on Sunday. The child was badly wounded and parents rushed her to the nearest medical facility.
She received first aid there and was sent to a hospital in Mariupol, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the southeast, but unfortunately was confirmed dead on arrival.