Officials: Ukraine airstrike kills civilians

An airstrike demolished an apartment block in eastern Ukraine today, killing at least 11 civilians, regional officials said.
The attack adds to the steadily growing number of civilians killed over four months in a dogged pro-Russian insurgency.
The devastation bore signs of a strike by several missiles and left only a mountain of smoking debris. The four-story apartment block appeared to have been hit in two separate spots, causing the collapse of several tiers, and a nearby house was also destroyed.
Health officials in the Donetsk region, where the rebel-held town of Snizhne is located, said 11 people were killed.

Government officials denied local resident claims that today's strike was carried out by Ukraine's air force, but did not say whom they blame. Rebel forces are not known to have access to airpower.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry insisted the bombing could not have been carried out by the air force as none of its planes were on sorties at the time of the strike. Security Council spokesman Andrei Lysenko called the incident a "cynical and bloody provocation" aimed at discrediting the armed forces.

No reliable official recent death toll has been produced, but hundreds of civilians are believed to have been killed to date. Authorities said today that 258 servicemen have been killed in fighting and 922 injured.

Separatist in Luhansk said that 12 more civilians were killed Monday evening in the eastern city of Luhansk following rocket attacks and airstrikes. It was not immediately possible to verify those claims.
Ukraine had said yesterday that one of its military transport planes carrying eight personnel was shot down by a missile fired from Russian territory. Security Service chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko said there was "unconditional evidence" that Russia was involved in downing the craft, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported today.