Over 20 dead in east Ukraine after shelling

imgLocal authorities in eastern Ukraine say at least 22 civilians have been killed in one day by shelling.

City hall in Luhansk, which is under the control of separatist rebels, said today that five people were killed when an old people’s home was struck by artillery fire. Russian television showed images of bodies in wheelchairs covered with blankets.

In Horlivka, a city besieged by government troops, the mayor’s office reported 17 people, including three children, dying as a result of shelling.

The use of unguided rockets in fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatist rebels has been taking a noticeably heavier toll in recent weeks and been criticised by rights groups. The UN says at least 1,129 people were killed between mid-April, when fighting began, and 26 July.

Fighting in Ukraine prompts residents to flee: Panicky residents in an eastern Ukrainian town have fled their homes carrying a few possessions in plastic bags and small suitcases as shells exploded in the distance, fighting that also prevented an international police team from reaching the area where the Malaysia Airlines plane was downed.“Mom, hang in there,” exclaimed a weeping woman who was fleeing Shakhtarsk with her mother.

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