Shelling in the city of Donetsk has killed 25 people and left 20 others wounded, according to Russia-backed officials who blamed Ukraine for the attack.
Vladimir Putin’s foreign ministry claimed without evidence that Western-supplied weapons had been used in the attack on the Donbas city, which is currently held by Russia. Kyiv is yet to comment, but has appeared so far to avoid targeting civilians since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Images taken at the scene by Reuters photojournalists showed crying people, some who said they had lost their relatives, and bodies lying on blood-soaked snow near one of the city’s markets.
It came on the same day an explosion happened at a gas export terminal near St Petersburg. Operator Novatek said it had been forced to suspend some operations at the huge Baltic Sea fuel export terminal due to a fire started by what Ukrainian media said was a drone attack.
The giant Ust-Luga complex, located on the Gulf of Finland about 170 km (110 miles) west of St. Petersburg, is used to ship oil and gas products to international markets.