A Russian airstrike on a pension payout center in an eastern Ukrainian village killed 23 civilians on Tuesday, officials said. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded by urging Kyiv’s allies to step up pressure on Moscow to end the war.
Russian troops have pressed a grinding offensive across much of the eastern Donetsk region as diplomatic efforts to achieve peace in the 3 1/2-year-old war have largely stalled.
Zelenskyy said a guided bomb had struck the village of Yarova, about 15 miles (24 km) from the city of Sloviansk, a Ukrainian stronghold, and several kilometres behind the front line.
“Directly on people. Ordinary civilians. At the very moment when pensions were being disbursed,” he wrote on X.
The president posted video footage showing bodies strewn across the ground and debris. Twenty-three people were killed and another 18 people were wounded, said Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
He added that some victims were still being identified using DNA.
“The world must not remain silent,” Zelenskyy said. “The world must not remain idle. A response is needed from the United States. A response is needed from Europe. A response is needed from the G20.”
Russia did not immediately comment on Zelenskyy’s remarks. Moscow has denied targeting civilians, but tens of thousands have died since its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Last week, a Russian airstrike near the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv killed two people from a Danish-sponsored humanitarian demining mission.
“Is this what Russia means when it talks about peace? When will Russia stop killing people?” wrote European Council President Antonio Costa on X.
Call For War Financing
Ukraine has requested a new financing programme from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the war with Russia drags on, keeping military spending high, the prime minister said on Tuesday.
Ukraine is spending about 60% of its total budget to fund the war effort and relies heavily on financial support from its Western allies to cover the cost of pensions, public sector wages and humanitarian spending.
“Active hostilities continue, and our draft state budget for 2026 has been prepared with the understanding that the war is far from over,” Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on X.
(With inputs from Reuters)
