At least 24 people were killed and 19 others injured on Tuesday in a Russian air strike on Yarova, a small village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, according to Ukrainian officials. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the victims were “ordinary civilians” who had gathered to collect their pensions.
Regional governor Vadym Filashkin confirmed the strike and urged residents to evacuate to safer areas as emergency crews worked at the scene. Yarova, located just north of Slovyansk and only a few kilometers from the front line, lies in an area where Russian forces have been steadily advancing.
The attack took place at about 10:40 a.m. local time (07:40 GMT), said Oleksandr Zhuravlyov, head of the Lyman city administration. Most of the victims, he added, were elderly residents waiting for pension payments.
Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported that Russia had dropped a guided air bomb on the village. Photos from the site showed a destroyed Ukrposhta postal vehicle, typically used to deliver pensions. The head of the postal service noted the vehicle had been parked discreetly under trees for security, but a staff member was still wounded. “Maybe someone gave away the coordinates,” he suggested.
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The death toll makes this one of the deadliest strikes on civilians in recent weeks, 42 months into Russia’s full-scale invasion. Just last month, 23 people were killed in overnight air strikes on Kyiv. Over the weekend, Russia launched its largest assault on the capital since the war began, striking the main government building in what Zelensky described as a “ruthless” attack.
Local officials said pension distribution would now be moved to safer areas, given the proximity of the front line. Already, 22 people from Yarova have been evacuated, and Ukraine’s emergency services confirmed three additional deaths from separate shelling in the Donetsk region.
Calling for global action, Zelensky said, “The world must not remain silent.” He urged the United States, Europe, and the G20 nations to respond decisively to Russia’s continued targeting of civilians.