Russian shelling in Eastern Ukraine kills 16, PM says

A Russian missile struck an outdoor market in Eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people and wounding dozens, officials said

The deadly attack came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv and was expected to announce more than $1 billion US in new American funding.

Associated Press journalists at the site of the attack in Kostiantynivka saw covered bodies on the ground and emergency workers extinguishing fires at market stalls, with blackened and mangled cars nearby.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at least 16 people were killed. Another 31 were wounded, according to the regional prosecutor's office. The Ukrainian Defence Ministry said the market was hit by a ballistic missile.

Firefighters extinguished blazes that damaged about 30 pavilions at the market, Klymenko said. Crews searched the rubble for any trapped victims.

Twenty shops, power lines, administrative building and the floor of an apartment building were damaged, according to the prosecutor general's office.

The attack was another grim reminder of the war's civilian toll.

"A regular market. Shops. A pharmacy. People who did nothing wrong," Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel.

"Those who know this place are well aware that it is a civilian area," Zelenskyy said later at a news conference with visiting Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. "There aren't any military units nearby. The strike was deliberate."

Blinken's visit also was aimed at assessing Ukraine's three-month-old counteroffensive and signal continued U.S. backing as some Western allies express worries about Kyiv's slow progress in driving out Russian forces after 18 months of war, according to U.S. officials.

"We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs for the long-term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent," Blinken said. "We're also determined to continue to work with our partners as they build and rebuild a strong economy, strong democracy."

Funding pledge

Blinken was set to pledge more than $1 billion in new U.S. funding, a senior State Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the announcement before it was made.

The money would be for "a range" of investments, the official said, without elaborating.

Other issues, including support for Ukraine's war-torn economy, were to be discussed, building on Blinken's June announcement in London of $1.3 billion in aid to help Kyiv rebuild, with a focus on modernizing its energy network, which was bombarded by Russia last winter.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that U.S. assistance to Ukraine "can't influence the course of the special military operation" Moscow's euphemism for the war.

Blinken arrived in Kyiv for an overnight visit hours after Russia launched a missile attack on the city. He was expected to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top officials to discuss the ongoing counteroffensive and reconstruction efforts.

On the train journey to Kyiv, Blinken met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, also on an official visit, to discuss the war. Blinken thanked her for Denmark's leadership in a coalition training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s and for promising to donate the fighter jets to Ukraine, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Washington officials said there will be discussions of alternative export routes for Ukrainian grain following Russia's exit from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its frequent bombardment of port facilities in the Odesa region, from which most grain is transported abroad.

Those alternatives may include new overland routesor ships hugging coastlines to keep out of international waters where they could be targeted by Russia's navy.

Cruise missiles

Overnight, Russia fired cruise missiles at Kyiv in its first aerial attack on the capital since Aug. 30, according to Serhii Popko, the head of Kyiv's regional military administration.

Debris from a downed missile struck a business in Kyiv, causing a fire and damage. No casualties were reported.

In the Odesa region, one person was killed in a Russian missile and drone attack on the port of Izmail that damaged grain elevators, administrative buildings and agricultural enterprises, authorities said.