Pushilin said in a post on the Telegram application that 155 mm and 152 mm artillery shells were fired at Donetsk from two areas west of the city near the front line. There was no immediate comment from Kiev, and The Washington Post was unable to immediately verify the allegations.
Pictures from the aftermath of the strike showed bodies on the ground and in the snow, some covered in blankets or lying next to fruit crates. Parts of a nearby building were severely damaged and the surrounding area turned black due to the explosion. Officers from the Russian Investigative Committee also appeared inspecting the scene and carrying victims.
In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry described the incident as a “brutal terrorist attack” and said it was carried out using “weapons provided by the West.”
Russia's campaign of heavy airstrikes and bombing has also killed thousands of civilians across Ukraine. Russia invaded the country in 2022 and illegally annexed some regions, including Donetsk, where pro-Moscow separatists have been operating under Russian cover for years.
Since the invasion, Ukraine has reclaimed some territory from Russian forces, but the front lines are now largely frozen with the conflict at a stalemate.
In recent weeks, both sides have relied on long-range missile attacks, including the massive Russian bombing of Ukrainian cities on December 29. The next day, a joint missile attack on the Russian city of Belgorod killed at least twenty people. People, in an attack that the authorities also blamed on Ukraine.
On January 2, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had used nearly 300 missiles and more than 200 drones in attacks on Ukraine since the bombing on December 29 — a tactic that could exhaust Kiev's air defenses.
Bushelin said on Sunday that the Democratic Republic of the Congo would hold a day of mourning for the victims.
Ilyushina reported from Riga, Latvia.
