Russia pounds Donetsk, Luhansk; at least 21 killed

Russian attacks in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region have killed at least 21 civilians and injured 27, the highest daily death toll in a month, according to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Writing on Telegram, Kyrylenko said at least 10 people were killed after the Russians shelled the Avdiivka coke plant, one of Europe’s largest. Five more people were killed in the town of Lyman, four in the town of Vuhledar and one each in the villages of Velyka Novosilka and Shandrygolove, he said.

The death toll is the highest in the region since an attack last month on a railway station in the town of Kramatorsk in which more than 50 people were killed, reports al-jazeera.

“For every crime committed on our land, the Russians will be punished,” Kyrylenko said.

Attacks and shelling also intensified in Luhansk, and was particularly severe around Popasna, where it was impossible to organise evacuations, regional governor Serhiy Haidai said.

“There are no safe cities in Luhansk region,” he said on Telegram.

Agencies