Russian cluster munition strike kills three generations of Ukrainian family, police say
A 13-year-old girl, her 36-year-old mother and 62-year-old grandmother were killed when a Russian rocket struck their home in the village of Cherkaske in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast on Oct. 12, Ukrainian police and regional authorities reported.
The attack occurred at approximately 11:15 a.m. Russian forces used a Smerch multiple-launch rocket system equipped with a cluster warhead, according to Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin.
Four other people were injured, including an 18-year-old man and three older men, police said. Nearby homes were also damaged.
“One strike destroyed the lives of an entire family,” Filashkin wrote on Telegram.
The governor accused Russian forces of deliberately targeting residential areas with cluster munitions to inflict maximum civilian casualties.
He renewed his appeal to families with children to evacuate from dangerous areas of Donetsk Oblast rather than wait for another attack.
According to regional authorities, 272 people, including 41 children, were evacuated from frontline areas of the oblast over the preceding 24 hours.