Russian actress Polina Menshikh killed in Ukrainian shelling: Report

MOSCOW: Russian actress Polina Menshikh was killed by Ukrainian armed forces shelling in Kumachovo village of Donetsk's Starobeshevsky district, TASS reported citing operational services.

The operational services said, "As a result of the shelling, Russian actress Polina Menshikh died."

Russian-appointed representative office at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of Issues Related to War Crimes of Ukraine in a post shared on their Telegram channel said that the shelling at the area took place on November 19, TASS reported.

According to the statement shared on Telegram, the Ukrainian armed forces fired from their positions in the Elizavetovka area from HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, M-30A1 (shrapnel) and M-31 (fragmentation) missiles, according to TASS report.

It said that the 27th separate rocket artillery brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces commander Colonel Dmitry Khrapach, was responsible for the shelling which claimed the life of a woman who was born in 1972, TASS reported. At the time of the attack, Menshikh had been performing at a volunteer concert for soldiers in Kumachovo village, The Moscow Times reported citing the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper. Video released by the Astra Telegram news channel appears to show the moment of the attack.

In the video, a woman is seen singing to an audience that appears to include members of the military before the performance is interrupted by a loud noise and the screen goes dark. Polina Menshikh was a choreographer, playwright, and director of the ethnic dance theatre "Nezhen" and the studio theatre Lege Artist.

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow has never refused peace negotiations with Kyiv and blamed Ukraine for pulling out of the negotiation process. He called military actions a tragedy for people and stressed that the world must think about how to stop this tragedy. In his address at the virtual G20 Summit, Putin said that some of the leaders in their speeches said that they were "shocked by Russia's ongoing aggression in Ukraine."

However, he added that Russia has never refused to stop peace negotiations with Ukraine. Putin said, "Of course, military actions are always a tragedy for people, families, and the country as a whole. And, of course, we must think about how to stop this tragedy."

"By the way, Russia has never refused peace negotiations with Ukraine. It is not Russia, but Ukraine, that has publicly announced that it is withdrawing from the negotiation process. And moreover, a decree was signed by the head of state prohibiting such negotiations with Russia," he added.