The center of Donetsk was again shelled by Ukrainian forces, on Thursday, according to Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) officials. The strike came during a funeral service for a military commander.
The moment was captured on video by a TV crew that was filming an interview with one of the commander’s former comrades.
A memorial ceremony in honor of Olga Kachura, a commander of the DPR’s rocket artillery battalion, was taking place in the Donetsk State Academic Opera and Ballet theater, when the missles landed. Shells from the Ukrainian forces reportedly managed to hit the nearby Donbass Palace Hotel.
According to RIA news, people who gathered for the service were immediately evacuated to a bomb shelter while Ukrainian forces continued shelling the city.
Local authorities have so far confirmed that at least one person was killed near the Donbass Palace hotel while four others, including a child, were killed in other parts of the city. At least six others have reportedly been injured as a result of the shelling, including an RT employee.