LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- A Russian missile strike has killed at least 16 people and injured dozens, at an outdoor market in the eastern city of Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, according to officials.
The attack is following the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken’s arrival in Kyiv, as he is expected to announce more than $1 billion in new American funding for Ukraine in the 18-month-old war.
Associated Press (AP) reports that the attack led to several covered bodies on the ground with emergency workers extinguishing fires at market stalls.
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Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, said at least 16 people were killed.
Another 31 were wounded, according to the regional prosecutor’s office.
Twenty shops, power lines, administrative building and the floor of an apartment building were damaged, according to the prosecutor general’s office.
Eyewitnesses say the market was hit by a “ballistic missile.”
According to Zelenskyy’s statement on his official Telegram channel, “the attack was another grim reminder of the war’s civilian toll. “A regular market. Shops. A pharmacy. People who did nothing wrong,”
“Those who know this place are well aware that it is a civilian area,” Zelenskyy further stated at a news conference. “There aren’t any military units nearby. The strike was deliberate.”