Ukraine war: More than 20 civilians killed in ‘brutal’ Russian strike on Donetsk, Zelenskyy says | World News

More than 20 civilians have been killed in a Russian airstrike on a village in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

Another 21 people were wounded, a regional official said.

Following the attack, the Ukrainian president called for Kyiv’s allies to increase pressure on Moscow to end its war in Ukraine.

The bomb hit the village of Yarova as people lined up outside to receive their pensions, Mr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram, adding that the attack was “directly on people. Ordinary civilians”.

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Yarova is less than 10km from the front line, and was occupied by Russia in 2022 before being liberated by Ukraine’s armed forces in a counteroffensive later the same year.

Mr Zelenskyy posted video footage of bodies on the ground amid debris on Telegram.

“Frankly brutal,” he said, urging the international community to make Russia pay economically for its invasion through additional sanctions.

“The world must not remain silent,” Mr Zelenskyy added. “The world must not remain idle. A response is needed from the United States. A response is needed from Europe. A response is needed from the G20.”

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Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, said the attack was “yet another confirmation of systemic terror against the civilian population of Ukraine.”

Russia is yet to comment.

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The latest barrage comes as NATO chief Mark Rutte is today visiting the UK for talks on Ukraine – but diplomatic efforts to end the three-and-a-half-year war have stalled in recent months.

With US-led peace efforts seemingly making no headway, Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukraine. On Sunday, it hit Kyiv with the largest aerial barrage since the war began in February 2022.

US and European officials then met in the States on Monday evening to discuss options to exert economic pressure on Russia, including new sanctions and tarriffs on Russial oil purchases, the Associated Press reported.