At least 20 civilians killed in eastern Ukraine town, 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 3½-year-old war have largely stalled.

Zelenskyy said the Russian airstrike had hit the village of Yarova, about 24 kilometres 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 Vadym Filashkin, the governor of Donetsk.

"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."

Russia says Sochi drone attack was deadly

Russia's defence ministry said on Telegram that its defence systems destroyed 31 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 15 over the Black Sea.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

A man died as a result of a Ukrainian drone attack overnight on the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi, a Russian regional governor said on Tuesday.

Debris from a destroyed drone hit a car the man was driving in the Adler district of Sochi, Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on the Telegram messaging app.

In addition, six houses were damaged, Kondratyev said.