KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — At least 18 people were killed in shelling Sunday at a market on the outskirts of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk in Ukraine, local authorities reported Sunday.
Another 13 people were injured in the strike in the suburb of Tekstyrschik, said the city's new Russian mayor, Alexei Kremzin. He said the shells were fired by Ukrainian forces.
Kiev has not commented on the incident, and The Associated Press could not independently verify the claims.
Denis Pushilin, the head of Russia's authorities in Donetsk, said emergency services remained active at the scene.
Also on Sunday, a fire broke out at a chemical transport terminal in Russia's Ustiluga port after two explosions, regional officials said. Local media reported that the port had come under attack by a Ukrainian drone and that a gas tank had exploded.
The fire occurred at a site operated by Novatek, Russia's second-largest natural gas producer, 165 kilometers southwest of St. Petersburg.
Ukraine launches attack drones and missiles on Russian-occupied territoryhttps://t.co/f0cfoTT7DH
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 6, 2024
In a press statement to Russian media outlet RBC, the company said the fire was the result of “external influences.” It also announced that it had temporarily suspended operations at the port.
Yuri Zaparadsky, head of Russia's Kingisepp region, where the port is based, said in a statement that there were no casualties but the region was on high alert.
News agency Fontanka reported that two drones were spotted flying towards St. Petersburg on Sunday morning, but they were diverted towards the Kingisepp region. The Associated Press could not independently verify the report.
The Russian Ministry of Defense did not report on drone activity in the Kingisepp region at its daily briefing. The newspaper announced that four Ukrainian drones were shot down in the Smolensk region of Russia, and two more were shot down in the Oryol and Tula regions.
Russian authorities had previously confirmed that a Ukrainian drone was shot down outside St. Petersburg on Thursday.
