Kyiv: A Russian airstrike on the village of Yarova in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region has killed more than 20 people and left at least 21 others injured, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Tuesday. The victims, mostly elderly citizens, were waiting in line to collect their pensions when the strike hit, turning an ordinary morning into a scene of devastation.
Regional authorities confirmed that the attack struck a mobile post office vehicle distributing pensions. Bodies lay scattered across the village square, while survivors cried for help amid the wreckage. Governor Vadym Filashkin described the scene as one of “unimaginable cruelty,” stressing that no military targets were present in the area.
President Zelenskiy denounced the strike as a deliberate assault on civilians, sharing harrowing video footage that showed the aftermath. “This was not an accident,” he said, calling on the international community particularly the United States, Europe, and the G20 to respond with stronger measures against Russia. He warned that silence or delay would only embolden Moscow to escalate its attacks on Ukraine’s most vulnerable populations.
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, condemned the bombing as part of a “systemic campaign of terror” against civilians. He noted that Russia’s repeated use of glide bombs and other indiscriminate weapons has made even basic daily activities such as receiving pensions or buying food fraught with deadly risk for ordinary Ukrainians.
According to Associated Press reports, the weapon used was likely a Soviet-era glide bomb, modified and deployed to maximize damage. The mobile post office vehicle, a lifeline for pensioners in war-torn regions, may have inadvertently become the focal point of the attack. Analysts suggest that the destruction of such civilian infrastructure reflects a strategy aimed at breaking morale and spreading fear among local populations.
This latest strike adds to the mounting civilian death toll in Ukraine, underscoring the erosion of the distinction between combatants and non-combatants in the ongoing conflict. It has renewed calls for accountability and strengthened Ukraine’s appeals for additional Western support, both in military aid and diplomatic pressure.
For Zelenskiy, the tragedy highlights what he describes as the moral urgency of protecting Ukraine’s people. “Every day, Russia proves it is fighting not just against our army, but against our very right to live,” he said. “The world must act, not with words, but with deeds.”