Ukrainian forces bombed the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine overnight, in one of the biggest attacks in recent years, officials stationed by Moscow in an area illegally annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. Reuters.

Russian military in Donetsk regionPhoto: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia

“This morning, at exactly 7:00 a.m., they launched the largest attack since 2014 on the center of Donetsk,” the city’s pro-Russian mayor, Oleksiy Kulemzin, wrote on his Telegram channel.

“Forty rockets from BM-21 Grad rocket systems were fired at the civilian population of our city,” Kulemzin said, calling the attack a war crime.

Reuters could not immediately verify reports from the battlefield.

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