Moscow, Russia

At least 27 people have been killed and 25 others were injured after Ukrainian forces shelled the Moscow-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, on Sunday (Jan 21) said the city’s Russia-installed mayor. 

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Meanwhile, Russian forces took control of the village of Krokhmalne in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, said the Russian Defence Ministry, on Sunday (Jan 21). A Ukrainian military spokesman confirmed that Kyiv’s forces had withdrawn from the village. 

'Barbaric terrorist act'

Ukrainian forces shelled a busy area where shops and a market are located in the Russian-controlled city, said Alexei Kulemzin, the city’s Russian-installed mayor. Kyiv did not immediately comment on the incident. 

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The death toll marks one of the deadliest reported in Donetsk in recent months. Meanwhile, Moscow-installed head of the Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin had earlier said that 13 people had died in a “terrible bombing on a market”. He added, “The market was attacked on Sunday, when it is busiest.”

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Pushilin announced a day of mourning on Monday in the Donetsk People's Republic, referring to the name given to the part of the region Russia says it has annexed.

Moscow on Sunday called the strike on the market a "barbaric terrorist act" that showed what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine. 

"The neo-Nazi Kyiv regime, with the support of the United States and its satellites, once again committed a barbaric terrorist act against the civilian population of Russia," said the Russian foreign ministry. 

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Kulemzin had earlier reported shelling on the northeast of the city. Moscow claimed to have annexed Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region in 2022 but does not control the entire territory. 

Ukraine's forces in the Tavria, or southern zone, said in a Facebook post that soldiers under its command were not responsible. "Donetsk is Ukraine!" said the post, as per Reuters. It added, "Russia will have to answer for taking lives of Ukrainians."

The recent attack comes weeks after Russian-controlled authorities, on January 1 claimed that four people had been killed and 13 were wounded, including journalists, in strikes in Donetsk. 

Russia takes village in Kharkiv

Russian forces have taken control of the Ukrainian village of Krokhmalne, days after the Russian defence ministry claimed that its personnel took over a settlement named Vesele in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

This comes as Russia has recently ramped up its offensive in eastern Ukrainian towns such as Kupiansk, Lyman and Avdiivka, but has only managed to make small gains so far. 

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Ukrainian military spokesperson Volodymyr Fitio confirmed Russia’s capture but told national television that it had no impact on the overall situation.

“Our main goal is to save the lives of our defenders and they were moved to pre-prepared positions where they are now holding defences to prevent the enemy from advancing further,” said Fitio. 

Krokhmalne had five houses and before the war was home to only 45 people, according to the Ukrainian military spokesperson. The “several hundred metres” captured by Russian troops were of no consequence and called the capture a “temporary phenomenon”. 

This comes after Ukrainian officials in recent days have urged residents in the Kharkiv region to evacuate, citing worsening Russian attacks in the area. Some 3,000 people were evacuated, reported AFP. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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