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| Photo/Zelensky |
A Russian airstrike claimed the lives of over 20 civilians in the village of Yarova, located in eastern Ukraine, as they were in the process of collecting their pension payments, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reported on Tuesday, September 9.
The strike targeted the settlement, which is situated approximately 24 km from Sloviansk and several kilometers behind the front line in the Donetsk region. Regional governor Vadym Filashkin stated that an additional 21 individuals sustained injuries.
"Directly on people. Ordinary civilians. At the very moment when pensions were being disbursed," Zelenskiy shared on X, along with video footage depicting bodies strewn across the ground amid the wreckage.
He urged for a robust reaction from Kyiv’s allies. "The world must not remain silent. A response is needed from the United States. A response is needed from Europe. A response is needed from the G20."
Russia has yet to comment on the incident. Moscow has consistently denied targeting civilians, despite the fact that tens of thousands have lost their lives since the onset of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, denounced the attack as "yet another confirmation of systemic terror against the civilian population of Ukraine."