21 Dead As Russian Shelling Hits School, Cultural Centre In Ukraine

At least 21 people were killed and 25 were injured on Thursday when Russian forces shelled a town in eastern Ukraine, local prosecutors said.

Artillery fire early Thursday hit a school and a cultural centre in the town of Merefa outside the city of Kharkiv, regional prosecutors said in a Facebook post.

Of the wounded, 10 people are in serious condition, they said.

A photo accompanying the prosecutors' statement showed a building of several storeys that was destroyed in the middle with windows blown out and emergency workers combing through the wreckage.

Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city and some 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of Merefa, has been the scene of intense Russian air strikes in recent weeks and has been severely damaged.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)