Ukraine strikes hospital in Donbass, injuring eight – authorities

Ukrainian forces have struck a hospital and blood donation center in the Donbass town of Gorlovka, the head of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, has said. Eight civilians including a child were injured in the attack.

The victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the strike, Pushilin wrote on Telegram on Thursday. The the town center where healthcare facilities are located was “deliberately” targeted, he claimed. Both the hospital and the donation center were damaged in the strike.

Gorlovka Mayor Ivan Prikhodko published photos and videos from the scene showing damaged buildings, smashed windows and debris. One clip also showed destroyed furniture in a room at the healthcare facility.

Kiev’s troops used the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) in the attack, according to preliminary data gathered by the Russian authorities.

Washington has sent dozens of the multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine since mid-2022. The systems provided to Kiev have a range of up to 160km (100 miles) when equipped with longer-range ATACMS missiles. Other projectiles launched by HIMARS and available to the Ukrainian military have a range of around 70km.

According to Pushilin, Kiev’s forces carried out a total of 12 attacks on Thursday – both missile and drone strikes – targeting Gorlovka as well as Donetsk and other Donbass settlements. Cluster munitions were used in some of these attacks, the official said.

Last week, Ukrainian forces conducted a missile strike targeting a machinery plant in the city of Lugansk. Nine people were injured, including seven workers and two local residents, local leader Leonid Pasechnik said at that time. UK-supplied long-range Storm Shadow missiles were used in that assault, according to Russian law enforcement.