Jan 22 (UPI) — More than two dozen civilians were killed in shelling that hit a Russian-controlled Donetsk market over the weekend, according to the region’s Kremlin-appointed chief, who blamed the deaths on Ukraine, despite Kyiv denying responsibility.
He described the bombing in a previous one as “monstrous” and happened when the market was “busier. “
Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said he would carry out the attack at an upcoming meeting of the Security Council, official Russian news firm TASS reported.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of being guilty of the “terrorist act,” saying in a message posted on Telegram on Monday that Kyiv’s forces had “deliberately targeted” the market with six artillery shells.
“Donetsk is Ukraine!” Russia will have to take responsibility for the lives of Ukrainians who have been taken,” he said on a Sunday night.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also blamed Russia for the attack in his nightly address on Sunday, though he mentioned the market call.
“On this day alone, Russian savages shelled more than a hundred cities, towns and our Ukrainian villages in nine regions: from Chernihiv and Sumy to Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad. The most brutal Russian attacks were in Donetsk region. Unfortunately, there are wounded and dead,” he said.
“Russia will be held responsible for all this terror; it will have to be. “
Donetsk is one of four regions of Ukraine occupied at least patriciously by Russia. President Vladimir Putin announced the illegal annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia in September 2022.