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Damaged stalls at a market in Donetsk

Photo: Viktoria Velenskaya / SNA / IMAGO

According to local authorities, at least 25 people were killed in the shelling of a market in the Russian-occupied eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.

In addition, 20 people were injured, the Russian-appointed governor of the Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, said via the Telegram online service.

The market was shot at in the morning when many people were doing their Sunday shopping there, Puschilin continues.

There was initially no reaction from the Ukrainian side.

The information cannot be verified by independent bodies.

Some Ukrainian media also distributed photos and videos of a devastated market.

Russian state television showed images of a massive explosion.

People lying on the street could also be seen in the recordings, the authenticity of which could not be verified.

Two children were among the seriously injured, said Pushilin.

He expressed his condolences to the families of the dead.

Donetsk Mayor Alexei Kulemsin spoke of a “barbaric attack” on a civilian area of ​​the city by the Ukrainian armed forces.

He reported shelling from the northeast of the city.

According to authorities, there were combined artillery strikes with large-caliber ammunition.

The large city of Donetsk is located in the east of Ukraine, around 20 kilometers from the front.

Already in 2014 it came under the control of Russian militias.

Since then, Russia and Ukraine have been fighting for control of the province of the same name.

In February 2022, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin initially recognized the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states and then began his war against Ukraine under the pretext of protecting Russian citizens there.

In the fall of 2022, Putin annexed the regions along with the partly occupied areas of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and incorporated them into the Russian Federation.

Russia reports capture of village in Kharkiv-Kiev region: No strategic significance

Russian troops have apparently captured a village in eastern Ukraine.

A Ukrainian military spokesman confirmed a corresponding statement from the Russian Defense Ministry.

The Ukrainian armed forces have withdrawn from the town of Krakhmalnoye, he said.

However, the capture by Russia has no impact on the overall situation.

"Our main objective is to save the lives of our defenders and they have been moved to prepared positions where they are now holding defensive positions to prevent the enemy from advancing further," the spokesman said on television.

Krakhmalnoye consists of five houses and had 45 residents before the start of the Russian invasion.

The “several hundred meters” that the Russian troops captured had “no strategic significance.”

Ukrainian troops continued to hold the front lines.

The village is located around 30 kilometers southeast of Kupyansk, an important railway junction with a population of 30,000 that Russian troops have been trying to capture for weeks.

Russia has gone on the offensive in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks and recently announced the capture of a village in the Donetsk region.

In view of the attacks, the authorities in the Kharkiv region ordered the evacuation of 26 places at the beginning of the week.

A total of around 3,000 people were affected, including residents of villages in the Kupyansk district.

Russian ambassador rejects Swiss mediation

The Russian ambassador to Switzerland has rejected the Alpine republic's role as a mediator in the war with Ukraine.

Switzerland supports the West's "anti-Russian" line and has joined the sanctions, Sergei Garmonin told the Swiss "SonntagsZeitung".

"As a result of these actions, Switzerland has completely lost its role as an impartial international mediator." Swiss mediation is therefore "no longer an option."

Last week, Switzerland agreed to host a peace conference requested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

mgo/AFP/dpa/Reuters