Press TV correspondent in Ukraine: Ukrainian shelling kills 6-year-old in Donetsk

Press TV correspondent stationed in Ukraine says a six-year-old girl has been killed in Ukrainian shelling in the eastern region of Donetsk, saying more innocent civilians are expected to fall victim amid ongoing calls for arms supplies to the conflict-ravaged country.

In a ground dispatch on Sunday, Johnny Miller cited locals and family sources as saying that Elina was killed because of a “Ukrainian shell”.

“Anti-air defense missile fired by the Russians hit that missile ….and shrapnel shower to the ground to kill Elina” who was in a playground back then, he said.

According to the report, the girl succumbed to her injuries two days after being hit.

It comes while “millions of people in NATO countries continue to encourage their governments to send more weapons to Ukraine instead of negotiating for peace,” Miller said.

“The fact of the matter is the longer this war goes on, the more children like Elina will be killed.”

US finalizing package of long-range air-defense missiles for Ukraine: Sullivan

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says Washington is finalizing a weapons package for Ukraine, including long-range air-defense missiles.

Since the start of Russia’s military operation on February 24, the US and its western allies have imposed unprecedented sanctions against Moscow.

More than four months after the offensive was launched, Russian troops have taken control of nearly the entire Donbas region, focusing their military attention on northeastern Ukraine.

Staring down at defeat, Western powers have ramped up their military assistance to Kiev, offering a large cache of weaponry, including advanced medium to long-range surface-to-air missile defense systems, artillery ammunition, and counter-battery radars.

Russia has repeatedly warned the West against fanning the flames of war by providing lethal weapons to Ukraine.

On Tuesday, the Russian military said its troops struck "a depot with weapons and ammunition from the USA and European countries in the vicinity of the Kremenchuk automobile factory" in central Ukraine on Monday.

The army further said, “the explosions of ammunition for Western weapons sparked a fire in the nearby shopping mall, which was not operational at the time."

It comes as Ukraine's emergency services said the missile strike killed at least 16 people and wounded dozens of others.

Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine in late February, following Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements and Moscow’s recognition of the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said one of the goals of what he called a “special military operation” was to “de-Nazify” Ukraine.

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