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Russian rockets hit a busy market in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka during the day, killing at least 17 people, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. people died, including a child.
Wednesday’s attack in the Donetsk region came as U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made a surprise visit to Kiev to discuss a counteroffensive against Russian forces with senior Ukrainian officials.
“Russian terrorists attacked a general market, store and a pharmacy, killing innocent people,” Zelensky tweeted. “Anyone in the world who is still dealing with Russia is ignoring this reality. “
Another 34 people were wounded in the attack, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said. “20 shops, power lines, an administrative building and five floors of a residential building were damaged,” the report added. The ensuing fire destroyed several vehicles and eight commercial establishments.
Late Wednesday night, the Ministry of Defense said rescue efforts were over “after a Russian S-300 ballistic missile hit the outdoor market”.
Zelensky shared a video Footage captured by security cameras showed several people walking in the busy market before the impact. The rocket’s blast tore through market stalls and ejected shrapnel and debris.
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Kostiantinivka is 30 kilometers west of Bakhmut, a Russian-occupied city that has been largely destroyed in more than a year of intense fighting. Kostyantynivka’s proximity to the front lines and the intersection of rail and roads makes it an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian military as well as medical personnel and volunteers.
Zelensky has visited the city several times this year to meet with troops.
Ukrainian officials said at least one person was killed in an overnight Russian missile and drone strike in the Danube port of Izmail in the southern region of Odessa. Ukraine’s air force said it had intercepted 23 of 33 missiles and drones that were also aimed at Kiev.
in a post on XBlinken said the purpose of his trip was to “reinforce America’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine.” The secretary of state unveiled a new $1 billion aid package and said he discussed counteroffensive and reconstruction efforts.
“We and other countries are doing our best to meet the counteroffensive challenges at hand,” Blinken said, “while also supporting your critical work of strengthening our democracy and rebuilding our economies.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kouleba shared a photo on social media of him and Blinken visiting Kiev’s Belkovetsk cemetery, where they paid tribute to the country’s fallen soldiers.
Blinken’s two-day visit comes as Kiev’s allies have begun to push back against Ukraine’s counteroffensive more slowly than expected and with Western support dwindling as the fighting drags on.
“Obsessed about how many hundreds of meters Ukraine has reached today . . .[is]It’s ridiculous when we don’t know the timeline of this war,” said a Western official.
The official added that the Ukrainian army was making “incremental,” “methodical” and “slower than expected” progress, but there had been 270,000 Russian casualties and the Russian army was half the size it was two years ago.
In addition, the slow progress of the Ukrainian summer campaign means that more Western-supplied equipment is retained than planned, and the “main task now” is to provide Ukraine with more “equipment support” such as maintenance, logistics and ammunition.
“We’re not going to walk away,” another Western official added.
