Three people were killed in the attack on the capital of the Donetsk People’s Republic, local authorities have said
A Ukrainian strike on a restaurant in the Russian city of Donetsk. © Telegram / Donetsk New Agency
Three people were killed and eight others wounded in a Ukrainian rocket strike on a restaurant in the Russian city of Donetsk on Saturday, Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, has said.
Three people were killed and eight others wounded in a Ukrainian rocket strike on the Russian city of Donetsk on Saturday, the leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic has said.
The Paradise cafe in the Kirovsky District suffered a “direct hit,” Denis Pushilin wrote on Telegram. Three civilians – a female employee and two customers – lost their lives in the shelling, the regional leader added.
Eight others, including a child, suffered moderate injuries, Pushilin wrote.
The Ukrainian attack took place while the DPR was celebrating the tenth anniversary of the republic’s creation.
The shells landed near the starting point of a motor rally dedicated to the anniversary. Dozens of cars decorated with Russian flags were gathered at a large parking lot for the event.
The rally organizers said the event has been called off due to the threat of further attacks. None of the drivers were injured in the incident, they added.
The republic’s Joint Center for Control and Coordination said earlier that Donetsk was targeted by two projectiles fired from a multiple rocket launcher. According to a report by the Donetsk News Agency, Ukrainian forces used a US-supplied HIMARS system.
On May 11, 2014, a referendum was held in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, in which voters supported independence from Kiev. The ballot took place amid an armed conflict between Ukraine and Donbass, which started after locals in the two regions refused to recognize the results of a Western-backed coup in Kiev in February of that year.
