Ukrainian police officers and rescue workers inspect the rubble of a market bombed by the Russian army in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, September 6, 2023. UKRAINE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR / VIA Portal
At least 17 civilians were killed in a Russian attack on a market in Kostiantynivka, a town in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, on Wednesday, September 6, the same day that Defense Secretary Antony Blinken visited the American state of Kiev.
CCTV images show a quiet shopping alley when suddenly the whistle of a projectile is heard, followed by a very loud explosion. A survivor told Agence France-Presse the severity of the impact, which occurred at a time when the streets were very busy. “Everything was destroyed” and “the girls who sold are all dead,” he said.
Rescuers searched through the rubble and carried some injured people to charred vehicles and shops for treatment. The Ukrainian government reported 17 dead, including a child, and 32 injured.
“Russian terrorists specifically targeted the market” when there was no military target nearby, accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Kostiantynivka, which had almost 70,000 inhabitants before the Russian offensive began in early 2022, is around thirty kilometers from Bakhmout and was the scene of a bloody battle with Moscow’s troops for more than a year.
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It was a “despicable attack” against “a war-torn community,” denounced the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown. “Russia continues to terrorize the civilian population in Ukraine”, “deliberate attacks on civilians are war crimes”, commented a European Union spokeswoman, while for German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock it is “an attack on international law and humanity”. This new attack “underlines the need to continue supporting the Ukrainian people in the defense of their territory,” responded President Joe Biden’s spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.
Ammunition with depleted uranium, controversial weapons
The Kostiantynivka bombing occurred hours after Mr. Blinken arrived in Kiev. He insisted that the United States remained “on the side of Ukraine” and announced $1 billion (932 million euros) in additional aid for Ukrainians.
“The progress of the counteroffensive [de l’armée ukrainienne] “Ongoing progress has accelerated in recent weeks and this new aid will help give it new momentum,” said Mr. Blinken, whose fourth visit to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
In Washington, the Pentagon simultaneously announced that 120 mm depleted uranium ammunition, effective against tanks and other armored vehicles, would be delivered to the Ukrainians.
Uranium is an extremely dense metal that does not deform upon contact with its target. Therefore, it is used in armor-piercing grenades and bombs to give them greater penetration. This ammunition is stocked in many armies, especially the American and Russian ones. Although their use is not prohibited under international law, these weapons are controversial because of the toxic risks to soldiers and the population.
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The United Kingdom had already announced several months ago its intention to supply depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine, an initiative which Moscow subsequently rejected and threatened to use such ammunition. Following this new announcement from the Pentagon, the Kremlin criticized Washington’s “inhumanity.”
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“American aid is not charity. Thanks to our partners, Ukraine is today containing Russian aggression. We will never call for the deployment of American troops in Ukraine,” his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba told Mr. Blinken.