Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that more than 20 civilians had been killed in a Russian airstrike on a village in the eastern region of Donetsk.

He wrote on X: “Directly on people. Ordinary civilians. At the very moment when pensions were being disbursed.”

In the aftermath, Zelensky called on Kyiv’s allies to increase pressure on Moscow to end the war, saying “the world must not remain silent”.

Monday’s reported strike came after Moscow launched its largest air attack of the war over the weekend, which set fire to Ukraine’s main government building.

Russia’s latest series of strikes have seemingly renewed its vow to fully take over the country, analysts said, with Monday’s strike killing “ordinary civilians” collecting their pensions.

Dr Stephen Hall, assist

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