Ukrainian strike on Donetsk kills 25

At least 25 people were killed and 20 injured after Ukrainian forces shelled the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, Alexei Kulemzin, the city's Russian-installed mayor, said yesterday.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the incident. According to Kulemzin, Ukrainian forces shelled a busy area where shops and a market are located.

Reuters photographs taken at the scene showed crying people and bodies lying on a snow-covered street near one of the city's markets.

Pushilin said emergency services were working at the scene and that forensic specialists were trying to collect fragments of the weapons used in the attack.

Donetsk is one of four Ukrainian regions which Russia claimed to have annexed last year in a move condemned as illegal by most countries at the United Nations General Assembly. Russia does not fully control any of the four regions.

Meanwhile, a fire broke out at a Baltic Sea terminal belonging to Novatek NVTK.MM, Russia's largest liquefied natural gas producer, after a Ukrainian drone attack, forcing the company to suspend some operations there.

The Ust-Luga complex, located on the Gulf of Finland about 170 km (110 miles) west of St Petersburg, processes stable gas condensate into light and heavy naphtha, jet fuel, fuel oil and gasoil, according to Novatek's website. The port is used to ship processed products to international markets.

The Interfax-Ukraine news agency, citing unnamed sources, said the fire was the result of a special operation carried out by Ukraine's security services.

"The Ust-Luga Oil terminal in the Leningrad region is an important facility for the enemy. Fuel is refined there, which, among other things, is also supplied to Russian troops," it cited one source as saying.

In a separate development, Russian forces have taken control of the village of Krokhmalne in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, Russia's Defence Ministry said yesterday, and a Ukrainian military spokesman confirmed that Kyiv's forces had withdrawn.

The small advance follows a similar statement on Thursday from the defence ministry saying its forces had taken control of a settlement named Vesele in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

Russia has been ramping up offensive pressure around eastern Ukrainian towns such as Kupiansk, Lyman and Avdiivka though its gains have been modest so far. Moscow said its forces have regained the initiative in many areas after a failed Ukrainian counter-offensive last year against Russia's 2022 invasion.

Ukrainian military spokesperson Volodymyr Fitio played down the latest news and told national television that Russia's capture of Krokhmalne 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," Fitio said.