At least 16 dead after missile attack on Donbas market

At least 16 people have been killed in a Russian missile strike in eastern Ukraine as Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, arrived in Kyiv on a surprise visit aimed at showing support for its counteroffensive. The missile slammed into a busy market in Kostyantynivka, a town in the Donetsk region. Video footage and images posted by President Zelensky’s office showed a huge explosion as the rocket landed. Several people could be seen lying dead and injured amid flames that engulfed small shops and buildings. Kostyantynivka is about 10 miles from Bakhmut, the town in the same region that has seen the bloodiest fighting of the war. “A regular market. Shops. A pharmacy. People who did nothing wrong,” Zelensky wrote. He said the death toll was likely to rise. At least one child is among the dead, said Denys Shmyhal, the Ukrainian prime minister. “Russian troops are terrorists who will have no forgiveness or peace,” he wrote. “There will be a just payback for everything.” Read the best of our journalism: Subscribe to The Times and The Sunday Times YouTube channel: Find us on Facebook: Find us on Twitter: Find us on Instagram: #ukrainewar #ukraine #russiaukrainewar #russia #russiawar