At least 25 people have died in a shelling incident in the Russian-held city of Donetsk, media reports said.

The shelling reportedly left 20 people injured.

At least 25 civilians have been killed and 20 more wounded as a result of a Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk on Sunday, the head of the Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin told Sputnik.

He has described the attack as "atrocious", stressing that the market was shelled on the day when it was especially crowded.

Ukraine did not comment on the shelling so far.

Increase in civilian casualties in Ukraine in recent weeks

Recent weeks have seen a steep increase in civilian casualties in Ukraine following an intensification of Russian attacks, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country, HRMMU, said in a new report issued on Tuesday (January 9, 2024).

Hundreds of people across the country were killed or wounded in drone and missile strikes in the 10-day period between 29 December and 8 January alone.

“Civilian casualties had been steadily decreasing in 2023 but the wave of attacks in late December and early January violently interrupted that trend,” said Danielle Bell, head of the monitoring mission.

Next month marks two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has left 40 per cent of the population, 14.6 million people, in need of humanitarian assistance.

More than four million people are internally displaced and 6.3 million have sought refuge elsewhere, mainly in neighbouring countries.