Russian strike kills 10 at east Ukraine factory: governor

The Report Desk

Published: May 3, 2022, 11:19 PM

Russian strike kills 10 at east Ukraine factory: governor

A Russian strike killed at least 10 people and wounded 15 Tuesday at a factory in the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, reports AFP citing the local governor.

"At least 10 killed and 15 wounded, the consequences of the shelling of the Avdiivka coke plant by the Russian occupiers," the governor of the Donetsk region Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram.

He warned that the number of victims may rise.

Kyrylenko said the strike came as "the workers had just finished their shift and were waiting at the bus stop for a bus to take them home from the factory."

"The Russians knew where they were aiming."

Avdiivka -- an industrial town north of separatist-controlled Donetsk -- is on the frontline of the war with Russia.

The coke plant -- one of Europe's largest -- has been the target of multiple attacks in recent years as Russia-backed separatist forces battled Ukrainian troops.

Russia has in recent weeks increased attacks on territories held by Kyiv in the eastern Donbas region, now the focus of its invasion of Ukraine.

Coke is a fuel with a high carbon content and is an important industrial product, used mainly in iron ore smelting, but can also be used as a fuel in stoves and forges.

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