Russian airstrike on Ukrainian village kills over 20, Zelenskyy says

A Russian airstrike killed more than 20 civilians who were collecting their pensions in a village in eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday.

He called for pressure by Kyiv's allies on Russia, whose forces have pressed a grinding offensive across much of the eastern Donetsk region as diplomatic efforts to end the 3 1/2-year-old war have largely stalled.

Zelenskiy said the Russian airstrike had hit the village of Yarova, about 24 km from the city of Sloviansk 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. Another 21 people were wounded, said Donetsk governor Vadym Filashkin.

"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.

Ukraine's human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, said the attack was "yet another confirmation of systemic terror against the civilian population of Ukraine".