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Eight people killed in shelling of funeral of Olga Kachura in Donetsk

An RT reporter is among the injured

DONETSK, August 4. /TASS/. Eight civilians, including one child, were killed, and five were injured in a shelling of Voroshilovsky District of Donetsk, were last respects were being paid to Colonel Olga Kachura, the DPR Mission to the Joint Ceasefire Coordination and Control Center (JCCC) reported Thursday, adding that an RT reporter is among the injured.

According to the mission, Ukrainian forces damaged 13 objects, including the Solovyanenko Opera Theater, the Donbass Palace hotel, a heating station, a cafe and multi-story residential buildings.

On Thursday, Ukrainian forces shelled downtown Donetsk, where Olga Kachura’s funeral ceremony was taking place, forcing the participants to evacuate to nearby basements. The ceremony took place later. Donetsk Mayor Alexey Kulemzin called the shelling a planned terror attack against civilians.

Olga Kachura was one of the founders of the DPR People’s Militia. In 2014, she headed a DPR rocket artillery unit of 140 servicemen. On Wednesday, Gorlovka Mayor Ivan Prikhodko announced her demise. Her car was hit by artillery fire on a highway between Golovka and Yasinovataya. Russian President Vladimir Putin posthumously awarded her with a title of Hero of Russia. DPR head Denis Pushilin also awarded her with a title of Hero of Donetsk People’s Republic.