A Russian assault on the densely populated market of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine resulted in the deaths of at least 17 people and left 32 others injured on Wednesday, the 6th of September, according to Ukrainian authorities. Also this incident occurred while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Kyiv, reports Reuters.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, revealing that it targeted a market, shops, and a pharmacy in an industrial town close to the front line, saying it was a deliberate attack on a “peaceful town”. He stressed that any kind of cooperation with Russia means turning a blind eye to the audacity of its actions, stressing the need to confront such inhumanity.
“This evil of Russia must be eliminated as soon as possible,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
The images and footage circulating on social media showed the moment of the explosion and its aftermath, with shattered shop windows, burnt-out vehicles and a street covered in debris and scrap metal and dead bodies. Rescue services were seen sorting through the debris.
Now in #Kostyantynivka it is known about 20 wounded and 16 dead, among them 1 child – Prime Minister Shmyhal. pic.twitter.com/zNvjx9geNM
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) September 6, 2023
An eyewitness, Diana Khodak, an employee of the pharmacy that was attacked, described to Reuters the moment when the explosions occurred, a “flash” of light appeared, and she told people lie on the ground. She described the injuries of some of the victims, including a woman who entered the pharmacy with bleeding limbs and another woman who was brought in by soldiers
with an open fracture to her leg with “bone sticking out from the leg”.
Kostyantinivka, which had about 70 000 inhabitants before the Russian invasion 18 months ago, is about 30 km from the war-torn city of Bakhmut, where intense fighting has been going on for months.
Kostyantynivka is about 560 km from Kyiv and at the time of the attack US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials on a visit aimed at showing support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. Blinken praised Ukraine’s success in its ongoing counter-offensive against Russian forces and
announced a new US aid package of more than one billion US dollars.
Russia did not immediately react to the attack, it has repeatedly denied that it deliberately targets civilians. Ahead of Blinken’s visit on Wednesday, Moscow also expressed confidence that the US intends to continue funding Ukrainian forces in the ongoing conflict “to the last Ukrainian”.
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