14 Killed in Russian Strike on Eastern Ukraine

Ukrainian officials announced on Friday that "14 people have died and 43 others were injured in a Russian missile strike on a grocery store in the town of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine." Thick columns of black smoke rose from the destroyed building in footage and videos published by officials, with the Ministry of Internal Affairs later stating that the fire had been extinguished. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X: "Russian terrorists targeted a grocery store and a post office. There are people trapped under the rubble," adding that "emergency teams are searching for survivors under the debris." Kostiantynivka is located just 13 kilometers from the front lines in eastern Ukraine. Russia has been conducting repeated artillery and air strikes on areas still under the control of the Ukrainian government in Donetsk. Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin stated on X: "No situation on the battlefield justifies targeting civilians," referring to a Ukrainian incursion into the Russian region of Kursk.