Officials reported that a market in an eastern Ukrainian city was hit by Russian shelling on Wednesday, resulting in at least 16 fatalities and numerous injuries.
The fatal assault happened as U.S. An announcement of more than $1 billion in new American funding was anticipated when Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kiev.
At the scene of the attack in Kostiantynivka, journalists from the Associated Press saw covered bodies on the ground and emergency personnel putting out fires at market stalls, with blackened and damaged cars nearby.
According to the prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, at least 16 people died. According to Ihor Klymenko, minister of the interior, at least 28 people were hurt.According to Klymenko, emergency personnel put out the fire that destroyed about 30 pavilions at the outdoor market.
Crews looked through the debris for any trapped residents. According to the prosecutor general’s office, twenty shops, power lines, an administrative building, and a floor of an apartment building were all damaged.
According to U.S. officials, Blinken’s visit was also intended to assess Ukraine’s three-month-old counteroffensive and signal continued U.S. support as some Western allies express concerns about Kyiv’s sluggish progress in driving out Russian forces after 18 months of war.
According to a senior State Department official who spoke on the record under the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the announcement before it was made,
Blinken was prepared to pledge more than $1 billion in new American funding. The official said, without going into further detail, that the funds would be used for “a range” of investments.
On top of Blinken’s June London announcement of $1.3 billion in aid to help Kyiv rebuild, other issues, including support for Ukraine’s war-torn economy, were to be discussed, with a focus on modernizing its energy network, which was shelled by Russia last winter.
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