At least 12 people were killed and at least 40 injured in Russian shelling in Severodonetsk, Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine, DPA news agency reported today (20th).
"Russia was targeting residential areas," Luhansk Governor Serhi Haidai said.
Severodonetsk has recently been under attack from multiple directions by the Russian military and pro-Russian separatists in Luhansk.
Reuters and CNN reported that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in a speech the night before called the attack "barbaric and completely reckless".
He also revealed that many civilians were killed in a Russian missile attack in the town of Desna in Chernivu, north of Kiiu.
Chernivu is located 40 miles (about 64 km) from Belarus, Russia's ally.
"Everything is not simply a battle that took place during a war," Zelensky said. "It is a deliberate war crime in Russia that seeks to kill as many Ukrainians as possible and destroy as many houses, facilities and businesses as possible."
He added: "This is a genocide against Ukrainians and must be punished."
He also said, "Russia is putting a lot more pressure on Don Bass. Don Bass has been completely destroyed. It's hell. It's not an exaggeration."