At least 17 people have been killed in heavy Russian shelling in the middle of a busy neighborhood in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka. Shortly before, US Secretary of State Blinken had arrived in Kiev.
At least 17 people were killed in a Russian attack on the city of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine, according to Ukrainian sources. “There is also a child among them,” Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal said on Telegram. According to the authorities, more than 30 other people were injured in the shelling of the city’s market square.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also confirmed the Russian attack and the many fatalities in the city in the Donetsk region. “A normal market. Shops. A pharmacy. People who have done nothing wrong,” he wrote, expressing his condolences to the victims’ families. The number of victims could continue to rise. Selenskyj spoke of the “impudence of evil”. The head of state also released a short video intended to show the moment of the explosion in the busy neighborhood. He also showed photos of damaged house facades, pools of blood on the ground and rescue workers extinguishing the flames.
It was initially unclear what exactly hit the projectile. Some local media assumed an S-300 missile. Kostyantynivka is just under 20 kilometers southwest of the town of Bakhmut, which the Russians occupied a few months ago as part of their war of aggression, and has repeatedly been the target of Russian attacks. In July, Ukraine accused Russia of using a cluster bomb in Kostyantynivka, killing a child. Even before that, civilians were repeatedly killed by Russian attacks in the Ukrainian-controlled city.
US Secretary of State for the fourth time in Kiev
Shortly before the shelling in Kostyantynivka, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Ukraine for a solidarity visit. According to a US official, Blinken wanted to announce additional military aid of more than one billion dollars (930 million euros) during his visit. It was the fourth time Blinken had traveled to Kiev since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.
Blinken will demonstrate “the United States’ “unwavering commitment” to Ukraine’s “sovereignty” and “territorial integrity” in the face of Russian aggression,” the US State Department said. The additional arms deliveries are intended to help with the counter-offensive launched by the Ukrainian army against Russian forces in June. In the days leading up to Blinken’s visit, Ukraine had reported several successes. The U.S. State Department said the progress made by the Ukrainian army was “impressive,” particularly in the south of the country.
With the additional material now promised from Washington, Ukraine could break through the “insidious defense lines” of the Russian army, it said. The US is Ukraine’s main military ally in the fight against Russia’s war of aggression. Since the war began, they have provided or pledged more than $43 billion in military aid. At the end of July, the Pentagon announced a new $400 million military aid package for Ukraine, including armored personnel carriers and ammunition for Patriot air defense systems.