'Russian shelling' kills two aid workers in Ukraine as G20 urges calm

By Stefan J. Bos

The group Road to Relief, which helps evacuate wounded people from front-line areas, said its four volunteers were trapped inside their van as it flipped over and caught fire after being struck by suspected Russian shells near Ukraine's eastern town of Chasiv Yar.

Road to Relief said Anthony Ihnat, a Canadian, died in the attack, while Ruben Mawick, a German medical volunteer, and Johan Mathias Thyr, a Swedish volunteer, were seriously injured.

The aid group added that it could not trace the whereabouts of the van's fourth passenger, Emma Igual, a Spanish national who was the organization's director.

Yet hours later, Spain's acting foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, told Spanish media that authorities in Madrid had received "verbal confirmation" of the 32-year-old Igual's death.

News of the attack came as residents in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, woke up early Sunday of a massive Russian air strike.

Ukrainian land forces said their defense systems destroyed 25 of 32 Russian-launched Iran-made Shahed drones, most of which targeted Kyiv and the surrounding region.

Blasts heard

Witnesses heard at least five blasts across Kyiv, and Ukrainian media footage showed several cars damaged. Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said one person was injured in the historic Podil neighborhood, and a fire broke out near one of the city's parks.

Separately, the International Atomic Energy Agency warned of a potential threat to nuclear safety after a surge in fighting near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant, the largest in Europe.

Fears also remain in neighboring states that they may get dragged into the war with Romania, saying new fragments of a drone similar to those used by the Russian military were found on Romanian soil. It was the second such discovery in Romania, a NATO military alliance member, within a week.
 
The attacks come despite the Group of 20 or G20 urging all members to shun the use of force in the ongoing war in Ukraine. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among Western leaders saying the remarks about Romania were meant for Russia. "I think it is an extraordinarily strong statement," Albanese told reporters.

"And Russia has to have gotten the message that this is having a devastating impact and that the world wants this war to stop, because of the impact on the people of Ukraine but also because of the impact it is having on global inflation," the prime minister added.      

The declaration at the end of the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, was welcomed by both Russia and the United States.

Critics said that's because it was less sharply worded over the war than one issued during last year's meeting in Bali, Indonesia, and didn't mention Russia's invasion directly. In Ukraine's words, the statement "was nothing to be proud of."