A dead body lays on the ground in front of a burning market after a Russian shelling attack in the city centrer of Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. More than a dozen people were killed and dozens more were wounded Wednesday when Russian shelling struck a market in a city in eastern Ukraine, officials said. KYIV, Ukraine — — A Russian missile struck an outdoor market in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people and wounding dozens, officials said.
Firefighters extinguished blazes that damaged about 30 pavilions at the market, Klymenko said. Crews searched the rubble for any trapped victims. “Those who know this place are well aware that it is a civilian area," Zelenskyy said later at a news conference with visiting Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. “There aren’t any military units nearby. The strike was deliberate.”and signaling continued U.S. backing as some Western allies express worries about Kyiv's slow progress in driving out Russian forces, according to U.S. officials.
About $175 million of the total will be in the form of weaponry to be provided from Pentagon stockpiles, the official said. Another $100 million will be in the form of grants to allow the Ukrainians to purchase additional arms and equipment, the official said, also on condition of anonymity. The aid announced by Blinken comes from money previously approved by Congress. President Joe Biden has requested another $21 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine for the final months of 2023, but it’s not clear how much — if any — will be approved. Many Republican lawmakers are wary of providing more aid and the party's presidential front-runner, former President Donald Trump, has criticized U.S. financial support.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that U.S. assistance to Ukraine “can’t influence the course of the special military operation” — Moscow’s euphemism for the war.