One killed, three wounded in shelling in east Ukraine
DONETSK, Ukraine Oct 8 (Reuters) – At least one person was
killed and three wounded when an artillery shell hit a shopping
centre in Donetsk, a city in east Ukraine controlled by
pro-Russian separatists where fighting goes on despite a
ceasefire.
A Reuters cameraman in Donetsk saw at least one body and
counted three wounded people after the shell crashed through the
roof of the shopping centre, smashing food stalls.
The head of the separatist self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s
Republic”, Alexander Zakharchenko, told a news conference nine
people were wounded in the shelling.
“I don’t know how this ceasefire is working here, or is it
not working at all?” he said.
Kyiv denies shelling civilian areas and both sides say they
are observing the Sept. 5 ceasefire, which has generally brought
a respite from fighting in eastern Ukraine.
But continued fighting in Donetsk, including at the city
airport, between Ukrainian troops and rebel fighters is
increasing pressure on the shaky truce.
The government in Kyiv and its Western backers blame Russia
for fanning the separatist unrest, including by arming the
rebels and reinforcing them with Russian troops. The West has
imposed sanctions on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine.
Russia, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March, denies
playing any role in the armed conflict, though it supports the
east Ukrainian separatists’ claims that the central government
in Kyiv has been mistreating their Russian-speaking region.
More than 3,660 people have been killed and more than 8,700
wounded in east Ukraine since the violence erupted in April and
the conflict is still claiming about 10 lives a day, the United
Nations said on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Shamil Zhumatov and Gabriela Baczynska; Editing
by Janet Lawrence)