An attack on a marketplace in Donetsk on Jan. 21 allegedly killed 27 civilians and injured 25 others, Denis Pushilin, the head of Russia's illegal occupation administration in Donetsk Oblast, reported via Telegram.
Pushilin claimed that Ukrainian troops carried out the shelling, which struck the city's Tekstilshchik neighborhood.
He said 18 people were hospitalized after Ukrainian forces targeted a busy residential area with drones and artillery, and that two of the injured victims were teenagers. He also announced that Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast would observe a day of mourning on Jan. 22.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify Pushilin's claims.
The press office of Ukraine's Tavria Group, the military units fighting on the southeastern front lines, issued a statement denying involvement in the attack.
"Russians are spreading information about a strike on the market in Donetsk," the statement read.
"We responsibly declare that the forces under the control of the Tavria military unit did not engage in combat operations in this case. Donetsk is Ukraine! Russia will have to be held accountable for the lives of Ukrainians that were taken."
In the Ukrainian-controlled area of the region, Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin reported on Jan. 21 that Grad rockets fired by Russian troops killed one person and injured another. He urged all remaining residents to evacuate the oblast.
Pushilin's allegations follow multiple reports of Ukrainian attacks on targets in rear areas of Russia and in occupied Crimea.
Explosions and large fires were reported in several Russian cities overnight on Jan. 21, in a possible coordinated effort by Kyiv to strike key targets deep inside Russian territory.
The terminal of Russia's Novatek natural gas company halted operations after an alleged Ukrainian drone attack caused a massive fire in the port of Ust-Luga near St. Petersburg. Other attacks on Russian military infrastructure were reported in Russia's Tula, Smolensk, and Oryol oblasts.
Local media and Russian occupation authorities also reported several explosions in the port city of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea on Jan. 21.
Pushilin was found guilty of collaboration on Dec. 27 and sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison for his role in Russia's occupation of Donetsk Oblast.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
