Ukrainian forces are trying to retake the city of Bakhmut (Picture: REUTERS)
Two foreign aid workers have been killed and two more injured in the latest Russian shelling of Ukraine.
Four volunteers from the Road to Relief NGO were near the town of Chasiv Yar on Sunday when the van they were in was hit, causing it to flip over and catch fire.
The charity, which helps evacuated wounded people from front-line areas, says Canadian Anthony Ihnat died in the attack, while German medical volunteer Ruben Mawick and Swedish volunteer Johan Mathias Thyr were seriously injured.
Road to Relief couldn’t trace the whereabouts of its director, Emma Igual, a Spaniard who was also in the van, but Spain’s acting foreign minister has since said they had received ‘verbal confirmation’ of her death.
The Bakhmut area of eastern Ukraine has seen Russian shelling on Sunday, while the capital of Kyiv has seen dozens of drone strikes.
Serhii Popko, in charge of Kyiv’s military administration, said ‘over two dozen drones’ had been shot down in the early hours of the morning – but debris had landed in several districts of the city, injuring one civilian.
The volunteers were on their way to assess the needs of civilians on the outskirts of Bakhmut, as Ukraine pushes a counteroffensive against Russian occupation of the town.
Tributes have been paid to Emma Igual in Spanish media.
There has been military activity in and around Bakhmut for some time (Picture: via REUTERS)
Spain’s minister of defence Margarita Robles said in a statement translated from Spanish: ‘All my solidarity with the family of the Spanish aid worker and with all the Ukrainian citizens who are victims of these massacres.
‘Here the only person responsible is Putin.’
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Acting minister of Labour, Yolanda Diaz, called Emma: ‘A young woman committed to human rights, a woman who represents the best of our country.’
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, president of the People’s Party, said ‘Emma has defended in Ukraine the best of our society: commitment, courage and altruism’ and sent his love to her family, friends and colleagues.
Ruben Mawick and Johan Mathias Thyr were seriously injured but are in a stable condition in separate hospitals, far from the scene, El Mundo reports.
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‘A young woman committed to human rights, a woman who represents the best of our country.’